Reid Mihalko, a sex and relationship educator, spoke at “Cowboy Consent is Sexy,” an event hosted by Chi Sigma Iota and sponsored by ASUW and Green Dot, on Tuesday, Feb. 7th.
The event was intended to bring conversations about consent, sex, and relationships to campus.
“Looking at how we’re really focusing on bystander intervention is the first part, and I feel, personally, that the other piece is we help people understand how to talk about sex and relationships,” Rachel Ratliff, the Treasurer for Chi Sigma Iota, said.
Mihalko’s presentation put education and awareness as the center to give students the knowledge that he never had at a young age.
“I think [the presentation] was a first step in starting to have both conversations be really prevalent on our campus,” says Ratliff.
Chi Sigma Iota and Green Dot hope that learning effective ways to communicate can break barriers and open doors for healthier relationships.
“Having healthy relationships and being able to communicate openly about what we want in a relationship is for everyone, not just for women in relationships, or non-binary people in relationships, or just men in relationships,” Ratliff said.
“It’s actually all of us coming together and saying, ‘This is important. We’re going to do it.’”
Many students reported that Green Dot’s event benefited them and provided them with a better grasp on what they are personally looking for and want in their relationships.
“The biggest thing I learned is how to break up the awkward after you embrace it, how to change that environment and make it more fun and exciting to get unstuck,” Cherylann Mortiz, a Secondary English Education Major, said.
Mihalko compared the concept of communication within relationships to parts of life as a whole.
“What we’re talking about actually ends up being life skills, because it’s really about social engagement, and how to have healthier interactions with human beings, period,” Mihalko said.
Mihalko ended the night with one takeaway he wished for all to walk away with:
“You actually get to be the change you want to see in the bedroom. And it starts with making it normal to talk about the things we were told to never talk about.”
