IWL puts on annual Sex, Milk and Cookies event
Director of the Well-being Center Emily Rath worked in collaboration with the Institute for Women's Leadership (IWL) to promote a healthy conversation on sex education. She discussed sexually transmitted diseases, libido and sexual health, while providing answers to anonymously asked questions from students.
Milk and cookies meet candid conversations about sexual and reproductive health at the Institute for Women’s Leadership’s (IWL) event, “Sex, Milk and Cookies.”
This past Tuesday, Emily Rath, the executive director of the Well-Being Center and a nurse practitioner here at CSB, led the presentation and answered any questions the students there had related to sexual education.
In past years, the IWL’s “Sex, Milk and Cookies” event operated as more of an interactive and discussion-based event that occurred as a series in the month of March, otherwise known as International Women’s Month.
“I was interested in this event because I am entering a career where I will be taking care of a very diverse gender and diverse sexual community. I want to be a good resource for the young adults I will be treating,” CSB senior Rena Henrich said.
Amelia Kahlhamer, IWL’s public relations coordinator, hosted the event.
“We’ve been doing this at least four to five years now; it’s a series that people expect. The goal is to promote healthy and comprehensive sexual education that is representative and empowering to people of all gender identities and all sexual identities. [It] is really cool that we have this on a binary, Catholic campus. We’re just trying to make people feel seen and make people feel heard,” Kahlhamer said.
The event was open to both Bennies and Johnnies as the information was applicable to both.
An alumna herself, Rath came to CSB from the Department of Family Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Throughout Rath’s presentation, she addressed several questions that students asked through an anonymous questions portal. This allowed students to ask questions free from judgment.
“A key takeaway for me is that even though I am a woman in her 20’s, I feel like there is so much more education I need regarding my own health. It is safe to assume many others are in a similar position, where they have many questions and are looking for a safe [place] to ask them,” Henrich said.