by Emily Bridges, Director, Public Information Services

Every year around the beginning of school, Beloit College releases its  notorious “mindset list” : statements that describe cultural realities for entering freshmen. The statements, like this year’s “The Communist Party has never been the official political party in Russia” or “Men have always been Martians, women, Venusians” remind older folks of how times have changed – or not.

In the spirit of Beloit’s work, I’ve compiled a few facts about reproductive and sexual health that have always been true for young people starting college this year (the class of 2015). Some are good news, while in other areas, there’s still some work to be done.

If you are an entering freshman, what would you add to the list? How have these realities shaped your perceptions?

 - All federal funding for sex education in public schools, throughout their education, went to abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, which taught that “sexual activity outside the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical side effects.”  Source

 - There have always been very famous, well-loved, openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. 

 - Films with excessive nudity, violence, or swearing have always been rated NC-17, not X.

 - From their birth to their senior year of high school, people in the military who are LGBT faced discharge if they were found out.  

 - RU-486 has always provided women with a medication option for abortion.