A College Seminar Encouraged Students to Masturbate to Prevent Sexual Assault

At a freshman orientation seminar this August, Rochester Institute of Technology provided their students with a controversial solution for preventing sexual assault: "Rub one out." The Cut reports the school seemingly encouraged students to masturbate in an effort to combat the issue of sexual assault and harassment on today's college campuses.

One student in particular was so shocked by the presentation that he shared of photo of the slideshow on Twitter. The picture featured the cartoon character Roo from Disney's Winnie the Pooh series with the caption, "Self-gratification can prevent sexual assault" on the screen. The image was reportedly part of a 90-minute mandatory presentation for freshman, titled "Alcohol and Chill," with more than 2,800 incoming students in attendance.

"Holy f--k, apparently my college revamped their freshman orientation to teach about how to not rape," @BunLordPeachum said.

The Cut spoke to several students who attended the seminar, including an 18-year-old victim of sexual assault who chose not to be identified. She told the publication she felt the presentation made light of a very serious issue.

"It made me very scared to say that I have experienced sexual assault, because now I get the impression that people on campus think it is a joke," she told the site.

Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Sandra S. Johnson responded to the resulting backlash in a press release, in which she said the presentation was meant to have more of a "'straight talk' approach, weaving in humor along with important facts and identifying resources for students."

"The overarching goal was to increase awareness and promote discussion about the ways we together can prevent instances of sexual misconduct on our campus," she said. "Unfortunately, one slide, out of 77, taken out of context, has sparked controversy, mainly on social media surrounding the entire program. In my opinion, this serves to underscore the complexity involved in addressing this issue. In our experience, telling students what 'not to do' without talking about specific situations that are difficult to navigate is irresponsible; we addressed the subject from a place and context that students could understand."

RIT President David Munson also issued a statement, apologizing to anyone who may have taken offense.

"We apologize to anyone who was offended by a slide that was included in our new student orientation," he said. "While we are committed to having open and frank conversations on these important topics, we pledge to take such sensitivities into account in any future programs." Munson declined to elaborate further.

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, you can contact the National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE or visit their website.

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