Controversy has erupted over the new “Adulting 101” seminar that was part of Saddle Up programming, with critics claiming that it was “indoctrination” that promoted “casual consensual sex.”
The purpose of the Adulting 101 seminar was to teach life skills that are important in college. The seminar was modeled on academic Arthur Chickering’s theory on the identity development of college students, which emphasizes the seven aspects of psychological development college students undergo.
Among the topics touched on was sex, which some took issue with.
“The only real comment I have is that Saddle Up should be orientation, not indoctrination,” an anonymous student said in a comment that was read aloud to the Board of Trustees at their September meeting by Trustee Jeff Marsh.
“Teaching students that ‘casual consensual sex’ is perfectly fine is wrong to teach. Of course I don’t believe that, but I think it was wrong to teach because it was taught as fact,” the student went on to say,” the student continued. “But to tell kids throughout the week that these opinions are fact is wrong. It is blatant disregard for the political and religious affiliations of your incoming students.”
Multiple Trustees echoed sentiments from this comment and expressed significant personal concern over the seminar.
“I personally financially supported this [Saddle Up], as did my wife. Not gonna happen again. This has been tainted by one segment, in my opinion, and you missed the mark,” Marsh said to administration.
Administration acknowledged there were concerns but noted that they were not shared by a large number of students, and there had only been one comment from a student that expressed that opinion across multiple surveys and discussions.
“I can say with certainty that this is not a pervasive point of view, and that we have done our due diligence to try and find out whether this really was a significant issue for students who participated in the program,” Provost Kevin Carman said.
Other Trustees disagreed.
“I think that we have about a dozen complaints about this. It’s not this one comment. I myself have had three first-hand complaints, there’s a couple letters, and there’s other Trustees that have also received complaints,” Trustee Laura Schmid-Pizzato said during the discussion.
Other Trustees reflected on UW as a representation of the state and its people.
“I think we need to reflect the mores and morals of our citizens, and I don’t think that we did a very good job of that,” Trustee Kermit Brown said during the discussion. “I really think that that part of this program needs to be seriously rethought.”
Administrators had reflected on the ability to change the program earlier in the discussion.
“I think that the ability to modify content in Adulting 101 is incredibly available, and that that element can be edited,” Vice President for Student Affairs Kim Chestnut said. “But the overall content itself [of the seminar] is profound and meaningful as students engage in the great challenge of assuming so much more responsibility in college.”
Sex on college campuses has long been a controversial issue, and in recent years at UW a significant effort has been made to promote the importance of consent and information on how to engage in safe sex.
The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that adequate sex education is associated with a delay in the initiation of sexual intercourse, increased use of protection, and increased academic performance.
A 2018 survey of students found that 27%, or one in four, had experienced sexual assault during their time at the University of Wyoming.
