Every year, the University of Tennessee hosts "Sex Week". The event, organized by the student organization Sexual Empowerment and Awareness at Tennessee (SEAT), is an integral part of SEAT's mission to "foster a comprehensive ad academically-informed conversation about sex, sexuality and relationships…" University of Tennessee is not the first school to host such an event. Yale started the tradition in 2002 and it has been quickly adopted by other universities: Brown University, Northeastern, and Washington University in St. Louis are just a few who have adopted this tradition. The fundamental purpose of this event is to "foster dialogue and awareness about sexual health issues".
Needless to say, there needs to be more open and honest conversations regarding these types of topics. Fortunately, it is getting easier to have these conversations, but it is still considered taboo in many circles. The problem with this situation is that people are still acting, but society wants to pretend that it is not happening. This is called denial. It is difficult to act responsibly if people are uninformed. There is a difference between having awareness and choosing not to participate and blatant ignorance.
SEAT hosted their first annual sex week in 2013 with about 4,000 attendants. About 17 days after the event, University of Tennessee administrators were forced to defund the event because of pressure they were receiving from state legislators. State legislators have deemed the use of tax money to fund Sex Week is an inappropriate use of state funds. Chancellor Jimmy Cheek had this to say, “We support the process and the student involvement, but we should not use state funds in this manner”
Since this is a public school, the state does have a say in how the school decides to spend the money and the UT System President Joe DiPietro supports the decision:
“The University is accountable to the General Assembly, the governor and the people of Tennessee for the use of state tax dollars,” DiPietro said. “The University’s three-part mission is to provide education, research and public service, and the state allocates this funding to help us fulfill the mission. Some activities planned as part of Sex Week are not an appropriate use of state tax dollars.”
Since then, not a dime of tax money has gone to fund the event. The organization receives funding from student programming fees.
The undertones of the legislator’s backlash are clear. This is Tennessee. It is no secret that there is a strong wave of conservatism in that state. Even though no state funds are being used to fund this event, conservatives are still clearly displeased that this event still exists. Funding is only a small part of the problem. There is a belief that this event promotes and encourages promiscuous behavior. I am sure they would much rather see an “Abstinence Week” event. The only problem is that promiscuity is a choice that people make independent of a school event hosted once a year. Trying to eliminate this event will not change behavior. Interestingly enough there is a timeslot dedicated to “Abstinence and Virginity”.
