As part of the Improve Social Climate initiative, students and faculty discussed issues and themes of sexual relationships on October 15 following the transition from ‘Date Rape’ to ‘Consent’ assembly.

This marked the first time teachers sat down with classes in a special, hour-long period to examine the issue.  On Tuesday morning, students arrived at school 30 minutes later to school as teachers prepared to lead discussions.

“It was the most practical way to relay the message at the same time,” social psych teacher Anne Peacock said.  “It was an opportunity to ask clarifying questions and plan [classroom] lessons.”

Aside from teachers and faculty, Peer Advisors led discussions among freshman classes.  Junior Madie Eidam said that the serious topic introduced early in the year contributed to the mood of the freshman she led.

“Everyone in the room seemed nervous to talk about such a serious topic,” Eidam said.

Two Peer Advisors were assigned to each freshman class discussion, which focused more on the assembly itself.

“Some were pretty shocked to find out that [rape] happens,” senior Grant Gadbois said.  “But it was really interesting hearing what all the [freshman] had to say.”

Eidam said that once the discussion picked up, more people were comfortable in sharing their thoughts.

“I was really impressed by how understanding and thoughtful their input was.”

For other non-Freshman classes, students took a warm up quiz then read the transcripts of each Consent Assembly monologue.

Students also read and discussed the legal definitions of rape, along with the California Penal Code for statutory rape, something done for the first time this year.

Despite the time constraints for both preparing and carrying out the discussions, English teacher Jody Weverka said that raising awareness for issues such as consent does not stop with one session.

“It’s not a 20-minute discussion, it’s an ongoing process for both students and adults.  Each stage and step presents different kinds of experiences and strategies for approaching them,” Weverka said.

Weverka also said that the goal of the discussions was not so teachers and administration would sound preachy.

“I hope kids didn’t walk away thinking we presented them with answers,” Weverka said, “but rather presented them with and talked about possible strategies for coping.”