Gupta 25: Where To Find Sexual Health Education Resources At Brown

The diversity of ideas and experiences among students is one of the things that makes students at Brown special. This diversity encompasses a variety of educational backgrounds that profoundly affect how Brown students interact with each other, the university, and the world. For example, 58% of admitted students in the class of 2025 attend public high schools, 31% attend private high schools, and 11% attend parochial schools. Even within this category, curricula and practices vary greatly from state to state and district to district. This is especially true when it comes to sex education. Some students may come to Brown with extensive knowledge about sexual health, while others have little to no formal education on the subject.

When I came to Brown, I expected more sex education than I received. While every first-year student must attend an intake seminar led by BWell Health Promotion during orientation—it is important and mandatory—there is no mandatory program to address sexual health knowledge gaps among students. While most students at Brown are technologically mature, that doesn't mean they're equally equipped with all the necessary resources to make healthy and safe decisions about sex.

One of the questions I received in my anonymous digital survey was about Brown's best sexuality education resources, why students should use them, and ways the university could improve. Although incoming or current students are not required to take extensive sexuality education, there are many sexual health resources available on campus if students wish. However, finding these resources can be difficult for students, and universities can and should do a better job of highlighting them.

BWell's student-run sex education group, the Sexual Health Awareness Group, hosts all kinds of events for Brown students, from workshops to sex trivia and Jeopardy-like games that explore complex topics like the politics of choice! My favorite resource that SHAG offers is an anonymous messaging app where you can quickly ask and get answers to sex-related questions within 24 hours. This service is especially useful for asking impromptu questions that you may not be comfortable asking in person. For example, "What's the best way to remove a condom if I have roommates?" and "How long does it take for a positive pregnancy test?" It can be displayed there. BWell's website has a wealth of information and resources on a variety of topics, including sex toys, emergency contraception, and symptoms of sexually transmitted infections.

Although these formal resources are available at the university, sexual health education at Brown typically occurs in a more informal setting, online or in person-to-person conversations. Talking about sex with friends and peers is a way most people learn and expand their understanding. Even if we don't realize that something serves as sex education, it often can and should.

Brown needs to do a better job of putting its students on an equal footing when it comes to sex education, but students should continue to help each other learn. Whether it's sharing official resources like BWell and SHAG, going to CVS with your friends for Plan B, or admitting to a difficult relationship, we need to normalize each other's conversations about sex. Sometimes the closest and most accessible sexual health education is found one after the other.

If you have questions about sex or relationships that could be discussed in a future column, please ask an anonymous question at https://tinyurl.com/BDHsexcolumn . Anusha Gupta '25 can be reached at anusha_gupta@brown.edu . Please send feedback on this review to letters@browndailyherald.com and any other comments to comment@browndailyherald.com .

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