Justin Garcia from the Kinsey Institute and Leslie Fasone from the Dean of Students office hosted “Drunk Sex: Finding Boundaries” as part IU’s involvement in the “It’s On Us” White House Initiative. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden launched “It’s On Us” in September to address and help prevent sexual assaults on college campuses across the nation.
The discussion began with an interactive survey in which Garcia asked the audience to choose its definition of “hooking up.” Survey results from the audience proved the definition of “hooking up” is ambiguous amongst college students .
Dr. Garcia continued by showing how the culture has changed in the last decades.
“What’s different now is the way we talk about it outside of relationships,” Garcia said. “It’s much more in the medium now. There’s so much discourse about it among youths.”
Dr. Garcia presented additional surveys from his own research, including the motivations behind hook-ups. The survey showed that one-third of college students considered their most recent hook-up unintentional and were impaired by alcohol or drugs at the time. This survey introduced issues with consent during impairment.
According to IU’s definition of sexual consent, a person is unable to give consent under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Consent must be expressed through mutually understood words or actions to both parties, and either party can withdraw consent at any moment. Additionally, consent cannot be assumed based on silence or the absence of denial.
“Bloomington is a quintessential college environment,” Garcia said. “Sexual activity occurs across the continuum of pleasure, consent and sobriety, which includes both positive and negative experiences and outcomes. Our job is to understand the variety of those sexual and romantic experiences and help make them better and safer.”
Garcia also brought the human nervous system to attention when addressing a person’s response to assault. He said it is human nature to freeze in certain situations that are traumatic. Consent cannot be assumed in situations in which a person does not say no or fight back.
“It’s On Us” will continue through April in adherence of Sexual Awareness Month. Up next on Culture of Care’s calendar is “ConsentFest” starting April 6.
Culture of Care is a student-run, faculty-supported group on campus aiming to spread compassion and redefine what it means to be a Hoosier — which Culture of Care defines as “A person who demonstrates care through action; someone with the courage to care,” on its website.
Within this organization are four committees: Drug and Alcohol Awareness, Sexual Well-being, Respect and Mental Health. Director of Sexual Well-being Grace Lidinsky-Smith emphasized the organization’s efforts toward safety and comfort for students on campus.
Students can participate with Culture of Care through the “get involved” index on its website. The link leads to a questionnaire to determine which committee might interest the student.
Fasone identified the mutual goals of both organizations to create a safe environment on campus, teach the definition and boundaries of consent and prevent sexual violence.
“Many of our efforts are collectively about changing this culture,” Fasone said. “Bottom line, if you’re engaging in sexual activity, you need to make sure you have consent.”
