Morgan Manfredo

Staff Writer

Utica College was fortunate enough to have Dr. Joni Frater and Esther Lastique come to campus and give students a little something they like to call “Sex-Ed Boot Camp.”

This was their third year presenting at UC, and they loved the turnout. On Thursday, Sept. 17, Strebel Auditorium was filled to capacity with students eagerly awaiting the presentation. The auditorium was echoing with students laughing and interacting with Frater and Lastique throughout the show.

Frater and Lastique are sexologists who have studied sex and have written a bestselling book called “Love Her Right: The Married Man’s Guide to Lesbian Secrets and Great Sex!”

They began their talk with the debate about abstinence vs. hooking up vs. connecting with someone and making a relationship. Frater and Lastique said that no matter what the status, always talk it out and make sure both partners are on the same page. Communicating with one another will go along the way.

Also, they focused on talking to students about how to make a healthy relationship. According to Frater and Lastique, the four main ways to have a healthy relationship is being honest, having respect for one another, showing equality, and being responsible.

“Those two women didn’t make anything they were talking to us about awkward, and I thought that was really cool of them,” freshman Regan Sidhu said.

The speakers informed the audience that 21 percent of people in a relationship said that at least one of them was being abused. They also shared statistics on sexually transmitted diseases, including that 20-60 percent of people would lie if someone asked them if they had an STD. There are 1.4 million new cases of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in the United States each year and 49 percent of them are 15-24 years of age. Similarly, Chlamydia affects 1.5 million people, with 69 percent of them being 15-25 years old.

Other information they gave students was warning signs of abusive relationships. Things to look out for are explosive temper, constant put-downs, isolating someone from family and friends, extreme jealousy, and insecurity.

One interesting fact that was brought to student’s attention is that 86 percent of sexual assaults are on college campuses. Frater and Lastique gave students tips on how to have safe sex and how to improve sex. Some of the questions the speakers recommended asking before having sex with someone for the first time are their age, interests, if they have any STDs, and their relationship status.

“I was hesitant about going at first, I thought it was going to be boring, but they made it really interesting, and I was laughing the whole time,” freshman Brooke Terrier said.

Sam Critelli, another freshman at UC, said she learned so much more than she thought she was going to.

“It was an information overload,” she said.

Overall, the students loved these two hilarious women. They gave out some of the most important information any college kid should know while making it fun for the students.