The most recent Pizza and Politics on Wednesday, Sept. 18, was held by the Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service at Southern Utah University. This week’s topic was an indepth discussion on sex education.
Pizza and Politics is a weekly event held where a controversial topic is discussed by students and faculty from SUU. The Sept. 18, event had two moderators who set up each question and selected the people to respond.
“We had a lot [of responses] on both sides,” said Jayda Walton, one of this week’s moderators. “Sometimes our topics can be a little one sided because of the community we live in but I think we had a great conversation today.”
Participants from both sides had plenty to say on multiple topics within sex education such as the level of education that should be provided, the inclusion of LGBTQ+ information and birth control.
The debate started with the discussion on the level of sex education that should be offered. The general consensus was that people were for comprehensive sex education that included teaching students about contraception and consent in addition to abistance and STI education. Most were also pro-inclusion of LGBTQ+ issues such as gender identity into sex education.
The last question of the day concerned what SUU can do better to serve its students in terms of sex education. The biggest thing according to the students was the lack of health care both on campus and in the community equipped to deal with students.
“I think that it is important that the school offers a safe space,” said Peyton Carter, a senior English education major and president of the Students United for Reproductive Freedom club. “We are in a rural community. People who are queer, people who are maybe not famililar with Utah, even people of color, people who aren’t typically expected in this part of the state might not feel comfortable going to doctors down here. I even know from my own experiences that I have found that doctors are kinda weird about some things… I do think the school has a massive responsibility to account for its own population.”
For more information on this subject you can go to the Health and Wellness Center in ST 175 and the Title IX office in the Bennion Building room BB 111.
Pizza and Politics is held every Wednesday at 12 p.m. in ST 112.
Story and Photo by: Morgan Crookston
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