This week marked the beginning of USC’s “Sex Week,” a series of events aimed at promoting sexual health and wellness among the student body.

Student organizers told the Daily Trojan they were inspired to host the week’s events due to a need for spaces to celebrate and educate students about taboo topics. 

Welela Solomon, a junior majoring in health promotion and disease prevention studies as well as global medicine, helped organize the event. Solomon said she thinks Sex Week provides special opportunities for students to engage with their sexual health and identity. 

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“We try to explore every aspect that comes with sexual health,” Solomon said. “You can have fun with it as well as make sure that you’re knowledgeable and know what you’re doing to practice in a way that makes you feel good. That’s what we’re trying to provide.”

The Graduate Student Government, the Undergraduate Student Government, USC’s chapter of Women and Youth Supporting Each Other, and the Student Assembly for Gender Empowerment organize Sex Week with support from USC Student Health. Solomon said Sex Week is special to her because it is a collaborative effort. 

“To come together and bring ideas to make people excited around sexual health and get the conversation going,” Solomon said.

The groups hosted a “Sexploration Tent” at McCarthy Quad Wednesday for students to engage with vendor products and informational booths. Organizers manned the booths, presenting flyers and promoting activities geared toward various aspects of sexual health.

The Confidential Advocacy, Resources, and Education Support Center — a student support center that provides confidential advocates and professional counseling to promote consent and prevent gender- and power-based harm — distributed “consent journals” for students to record personal boundaries for themselves or prospective partners. 

Students could also visit booths where they could learn about safe sex and contraception and were invited to take free lubricant and male and female condoms.

The Pleasure Chest, a sex toy retail chain, showcased some of its top products to students through a raffle. Event organizers distributed goody bags and fuzzy handcuffs to the winning participants.

Many students who attended said they felt Sex Week provides a welcoming space for students to explore and learn about their sexual identity. 

Tia Lucas, a junior majoring in cognitive science, said her first Sex Week as a transfer student was a positive experience.

“They were just really welcoming,” Lucas said. “The type of people and crowd this brings is always so welcoming, so why not check it out?”

Later that evening, the Sexploration Tent transformed into a tent for “Come As You Are” Night, where students could play trivia games, win prizes and submit anonymous sex questions to be answered by a panel of “sexperts.”

The event featured a “Create Your Own Pleasure Toy and Contest,” where students competed to mold air-dry clay into the best pleasure device. The student who won the most votes for the best device received a certificate for a free vibrator from Feelmore, an Oakland-based sex shop.

Regan Behney, a junior majoring in architecture and winner of the contest, said she felt a sense of community at the event and that she was “excited about the sex-positive nature of it.”

“Come As You Are” also featured a performance by Amber Crane, a Los Angeles-based drag queen who danced to a mashup of “Hush Hush; Hush Hush” by The Pussycat Dolls and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”

The event’s activities were accompanied by education on healthy relationship boundaries. USC Student Health hosted an interactive game called “SC ISLAND: Reality and Relationships,” modeled after the reality show “Love Island,” to teach lessons on boundaries and communication for strong and healthy relationships.

Devin Ayala, a fifth-year student pursuing a Master of Science degree in global medicine and one of the organizers at the event, said he felt it was important to have open conversations on traditionally taboo topics like consent and boundaries.

“We’re really trying to create an environment where people can feel like they’re a part of something really exciting and want to learn more about being sex-positive,” Ayala said.