A Wellness Center-sponsored abstinence education program that focused on sexual purity ended Monday night with students openly challenging the presented views.
During the question-and-answer session, some students in the audience challenged what they described as religious overtones, exclusion of gay people and rhetoric pertaining to sex victims. Dr. Lindsay Marsh, the guest speaker, responded to students by saying that abstinence is a choice all people can make and that her program tries to emphasize the worth and value of all individuals, not to judge or condemn.
Most students criticized Marsh, a 32-year-old virgin and author of "The Best Sex of My Life," for her claims that gay people could change their lifestyle if their hearts were open to God, that certain people were predisposed to promiscuity and that kissing could devalue a person.
While the GLBTA Resource Center took no official stance on Monday night's programw, individual members of the community were vocal in conveying their questions and concerns.
One student asked if he was included in Dr. Marsh's message despite the focus on male-female relationships and marriage to which she responded that many people on her team are former gays and that God can renew a person open to change.
Laura Flanagan, a freshman in the School of International Service and College of Arts and Sciences, came to the event expecting to learn about abstinence in daily life but said she was shocked when she heard Dr. Marsh's stance on gay people.
"My heart stopped and that's when I realized that this wasn't what I was expecting it to be," she said.
Allan Duffy, a health educator with the Wellness Center, said on more than one occasion that the Wellness Center did not support Dr. Marsh's perspective on GLBT issues.
"I believe it is a message you can make applicable to your lifestyle as a GLBTA," he said.
The event was scheduled in an attempt to balance the perspectives the Wellness Center presented on sexual choices and to offer more abstinence-centered discussions at student organizations' requests, according to Duffy. In a subsequent interview, he said that everyone felt included by the Wellness Center at some point because it should be trusted as a safe space.
The clash of ideas evident at the event was on par with other recent sex-focused events at AU, such as the Trojan Evolve campaign and events that address abortion, Duffy said.
In a subsequent interview, Marsh said the diverse student audience was unusually challenging, as she typically speaks to middle and high school or church audiences.
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