CARNAL NATION

This weekend marks the kick-off of SWAY (Sex Week At Yale), “a campus-wide interdisciplinary sex education program designed to pique students’ interest and spark dialogue through creative, interactive, and innovative programming.” The ten-day event includes hands-on workshops, fashion shows, presentations, parties and other special events that address pornography, relationships, safer sex, masturbation and sexual technique.

The student-run event began as a Jewish event, a “Kosher Sex Week”, and has grown into a large-scale event with this year’s guests to include author, Tristan Taormino and adult film star, Sasha Grey.

SWAY will be publishing a magazine and maintains a blog to offer updates on all things sexual at Yale. One recent post links to GoodCrushYale.com, a site that “allows users to list their crushes and to notify them anonymously.”

SWAY is one of many campus-based events across North America that work to promote healthy sexuality. Though Yale may not register on Playboy’s Top Party School List, it was rated as number 41 of 139 on Trojan’s 2008 Sexual Report Card, which ranked colleges and universities for their sexual health services. Perhaps the exciting and progressive events of SWAY will improve its ranking in 2010.

For the full 2009 SWAY schedule, click here.