Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / May 2, 2014, edition 1 / Page 9
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OPINION may 2. 2014 No second sexual revolution today The road to GuOford A LEHER TO THE STUDENT BODY As president, I want to work with oil Guilfordions together to live up to our core values...! wont Guilford students to become o very close family. Dear Student body. As you know, my name is Jose F. Oliva. I moved to Greensboro from Guatemala in 2011. When I first came I did not speak English at all. I had to attend Doris Henderson Newcomers School (named after Dr. Henderson, a Guilford alum). It is a year-long program for newcomers to learn English and cxmtinue their education in America. While at Newcomers Schcx)l, I was invited by the Human Relations Committee of Greensboro to give a speech at Dana Auditorium. From the first moment I stood in that stage, I knew there was something special about Guilford. In the same month, I also came to Soy Un lider; there, I had to give another speech for winning the third place in their essay contest I also got to meet people like Jorge Zeballos, Josh Rodriguez, Renato Garda, Joyce Medina and former Senate vice president Ir^g Zavaleta. They inspired me to come here. As my senior year at Greensboro College Middle College came to a dose, my AP English teacher Mr. Brethauer or Mr. B as I caU him, encouraged me to apply to Guilford — he is also a Gtdlford and ^nner alumnus. I applied and got into Guilford and Bonner. Finally, the day came, and schcx)! started. To be honest I was super exdted. Guilford had so much to offer: great dasses, dubs, organizations, values and, of course, its people. I could not stop telling my friends how happy I was — and am — to be here. I started getting mvolved in dubs here. I have been part of Hispanic Unidos de Guilford and the outdcxrrs dubs. I have also played mtramural soccer. However, I spend a lot of my time workmg on Roads to College. It is a program that with the help of my friends and different organizations on and off campus, we have started this year. The goal of the program is to help newcomers in Greensboro apply to college. I know and understand how difficult it is to move to a new country where the language, culture, traditions, costumes, people and many other thmgs are different I want to make sure everybody has the opportunity to get an education. Everywhere I go, I Hke to contribute to the place where I am. I feel Guilford has done so much for me that I just want to give my time and energy to this place. I dedded to run for president because I enjoy working with students to make Guilford greater. As president, I want to work with all Guilfordians together to live up to our core values. I would tike us to start with community. I want Guilford students to become a very dose family. I want to see student, staff, faculty and administrator engagement increase. I would tike for people visiting our campus to notice that there is something different here, somethmg that attracts and make people stay. I want the Triad, the state, and the country to know who we are. BY KINSEY DANZIS Staff Writer Sex. Now that I have your attention ... well, actually, this really is about sex. So, read on. Today's sodety is undeniably sexual, espedally regarding we millennials. It's hard to look somewhere without seemg adult- themed ads, kissing on television shows and debates about sexuality on the streets. However, the question isn't whether or not we're sexu^. Many people daim that we are in the midst of a new sexual revolution, a sort of repetition of the '60s. However, we are seeing not a revolution, but a continuation. So, then, what prompted this daim? Why are we questionmg this? "It seems to be a reaction to the fact that marriage is no longer as central and critical to our notions of adulthood as it once was," said Rachel Riskind, assistant professor of psychology. With the recognition of hookup culture, which doesn't necessitate any romantic attacfunent before a sexual relationship, those two have become significantly less intertwined. However, hookup culture isn't somethmg new. "One common misconception is that casual sex and the 'hookup' culture have become so much more prevalent than they have ever have been before, and there's some research to suggest that we should be cautious with those kinds of daims," said Riskind. "Even though terms Hke 'friends with benefits' are relatively new, there's evidence that those kinds of casual sex relationships have been aroimd for much longer." That's not to say that the trends aren't continumg to change. According to the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, college students today are less Hkely to report having a regular sexual partner than before, but they're more likely to report having casual sex with a friend or random partner. "Young, straight millennials may not be having more sex, (but) they are certainly havmg it differently," wrote Alex Morris in the Rolling Stone artide 'Tales From The Millennials' Sexual Revolution." But, what about the millennials that aren't straight? Kathy Tritschler, professor of sport studies, has heard interesting differences m her students' perspectives on this aspect of the issue. "I hear from many straight women and men that, while they want a significant relationship, they don't want to get married," said Tritschler in an emaU interview. "Meanwhile, lesbians and gay men are so exdted about the prospect of marriage and havmg their relationships recognized by sodety." Some would see that as adequate grounds for callmg this time period a sexual revolution. However, we must recognize that these desires, both of LGBTQA youth to have their relationships accepted and of yoimg millennials in general to have casual sex, are not new. They have been aroimd for quite a while, and the thmg that might falsely imply revolution would be the fact that we're simply talking about the matter more. "In the past, what people were open about was different," said Early College senior Anjali Kapil. 'Thmgs such as homosexuaHty and speaking of sex in general are just a continuation from our parents' generation. It just seems very different because what we consider a norm now was not the norm when our parents were growing up." Riskind agrees, saying that the changes aren't drastic enough for this to be labeled a revolution. "VVTiat we tend to see more with sexual behavior is a continuation of trends that began before," said Riskind. "We've seen a lot of changes in attitudes towards LGBTQA people ... but in terms of general sexual behavior, I think that we're seeing more contmuation of past trends." Possible motivations behmd these trends vary from one opinion to another, but media is one of the most common reasons given. "Our generations and yoimger generations tend to be more Hberal in general, but there's more desensitization of sex, homosexuaHty and the Hke now, espedaUy with media representation," said Kapil. No matter the reason, the trends are there, and they have been there for a while. The only thing reaUy new would be the amount that people talk about it, and even that isn't a very drastic change tom years past. It's a borderlme distinction, but an important one. We're not in a sexual revolution, not today, but we could be headed m that direction. We have to see what tomorrow brings. 3 ro *n o C
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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