This past week, the Student Government Association (SGA) Health and Wellness Committee held its first-ever Consent Week.
The event, spearheaded by the Health and Wellness Committee’s chair Trinity Chatman spanned the week of Feb. 10 to Feb. 14. The week consisted of multiple events, from passing out free treats to hosting a movie night. The goal of the week was to spread awareness about sexual autonomy and inform students about resources available to them.
The inspiration for Consent Week came from SGA Senior Senator Makayela Payne, who wanted to have an informational event on this topic. A conversation between Payne, Chatman, and Dean of Students Dawn Reitan-Brockman led to the larger vision of Consent Week.
“We want to make sure everyone is aware that they do have a choice and what they decided to do within those relationships that they have,” Chatman said.
Chatman expressed that she wanted students to know all the things that went into consent. She thought that the week of Valentine’s Day would be the perfect time for it, because of the themes of love surrounding it. Chatman feels that relationships should not make people feel pressured to do things just because of the holiday.
One of the events was a showing of “Where the Crawdads Sing”, starring Daisy Edgar Jones. Whitley Brown, one of the organizers of Consent Week, said that she had a fun time getting to help plan and set up this movie event.
“We had so many great ideas this year, and it was wonderful to see them come to fruition,” Brown said.
Both Chatman and Brown feel happy about how well the week went. Cameron Lagerquist, a sophomore, said that he felt that the week was informational and engaging.
“I’ve learned that consent is not a one-time ticket, and must be actively attained,” Lagerquist said.
The Health and Wellness Committee has plans on making Consent Week bigger next year and wanted to focus on laying the groundwork for it this time around. Chatman said that she hoped to have professional speakers and discussions about the “All Voices” platform available to students at USAO. She hopes that next year, having more events will drive the point home that no one can take away your right to consent, no matter what.
Malik Roberts is a second-year communication major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
