UNF strikes workshops on polyamory, sex toys from Sex Week

The University of North Florida recently cancelled several workshops that were to be held at its annual “Sex Week,” conceding that they only served to distract from the event’s original intent.

Campus Reform initially reported that UNF planned to host a number of controversial workshops during the annual event, including one for “poly-curious” students considering “ethical non-monogamy as an alternative to cheating,” and another called “A Grownup Toy Story,” which offered students an “explicit, but non-threatening” introduction to sex toys.

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Now, the school has informed Campus Reform that it has cancelled both workshops “to ensure that the emphasis is truly on the original mission of this series of events,” and pulled both down from the school website.

In fact, Vice President of Public Relations Sharon Ashton explained to Campus Reform that while “no taxpayer money, tuition, or student fees” have been used to sponsor the event, the school ultimately decided against hosting the aforementioned workshops so as to retain the original purpose of Sex Week, which is to educate students on topics such as “health and wellness, relationships and intimacy, identity and orientation, safety and risk awareness, and consent.”

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“Nonetheless, we were concerned that the issues of consent, safety, and healthy relationships were being lost in the week’s activities,” Ashton wrote, noting that her office has “worked with the Sex Week planning group to ensure that the emphasis is truly on the original mission of this series of events,” which had “led to a number of changes.”

Among these, she noted, were the cancellation of the two workshops previously reported on by Campus Reform, the descriptions of which overshadowed “the serious topics that will be discussed” during the rest of the week’s proceedings.

“The planning group has decided to cancel ‘A Grownup Toy Story’ as well as the session that was to be taught by a representative from the Relationship Equality Foundation, originally titled ‘Love Without Limits,’” Ashton confirmed.

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Additionally, she explained that the Sex Week working group is considering “ways to replace ‘Coming Out Kinky’ with a workshop that fosters an academically-informed conversation about sexual health,” saying, “We hope this experience is teaching the importance of focusing on the original mission.”

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