Suffolk University’s Planned Parenthood Generation Action chapter started the semester off with a bang by holding their first event of 2024 called “Sexy Scattergories” Sept. 18.
The event was intended to introduce first-time attendees to the group and their purpose of reproductive health awareness and education while also engaging audiences with a not-so-PG-rated version of Scattergories and distributing condoms and sex toys.
Turnout for the event exceeded initial expectations and filled up the room’s seat capacity. While all the chairs were quickly filled after a short sign-in process, people still flooded entryways and corridors for the chance to win prizes by playing the game. Later attendees were limited to standing room or sitting on the floor for their choice of space. While organizers had some trouble with microphones cutting in and out, they were able to keep the event running on schedule and maintain a comfortable environment for attendees.
With the number of people present at the event being more than what was expected, organizers decided to use a lower volume of categories and questions in order to keep the event on schedule– two questions per category instead of 10 (five categories total). Categories such as “a nickname for the hip new sex position” and “a name you couldn’t moan” were examples of how they shifted the once family friendly game into something that helped others understand their goal and purpose as a group. Even though these changes were last-minute to accommodate the turnout and made in front of the audience, they did not feel rushed or lower the atmosphere of the event.
Some people were slightly shocked by the explicit sexual appeal of the event due to being unused to sex being the front-and-center focus of a public discussion.
“I was surprised that they so blatantly put ‘sexy’ in the title of the event, as in ‘Sexy Scattergories.’ I think I was a little thrown off-guard because sex usually isn’t something that is comfortably talked about in big groups of people,” said Kate Carlson, a freshman who was in attendance.
However, according to the PPGA, the purpose of the event is to be open about the topic.
“I think the more normalized you make [sex], it’s easier for people to talk about, and it is a little jarring at first, especially if you’re more closed off about those kinds of things, but I think that seeing other people be so open about it and [seeing] how people have fun with it allows other people to open up,” explained Briar Emeney, PPGA’s vice president.
When talking about and seeking help for reproductive health, Suffolk’s Planned Parenthood chapter aims to be a safe haven.
“It’s really great to provide [sexual health] resources to people on campus. We’ve done a lot of great partnerships, you know, I just think it’s really important to overall to be able to provide the education to people– but also the space for people to come in and just decompress and be able to ask questions that they may be scared to ask their family members or friends and be generally be able to open up conversation,” Emeney said.
After the winners were declared, the PPGA made it known that they meet Tuesdays at 12:30 in Samia.
