UTAH TECH UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE | March 28, 2024

Students polled; majority say sex column OK

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Dixie Sun News’ newest column is touchy in more ways than one. 

After the first publication of “Erotic Topic,” DSN received positive and negative responses concerning the column. 

Some people praised it, while others demanded it be discontinued.

DSN wanted to know what its readers thought about the publication of a biweekly column on the topic of sex. 

200 students were asked what they thought about having a sex column in the college publication. 

Students were asked if they thought it was a good idea, if they thought it was a good idea but did not like the name of the column, if they thought it was a good idea but needed a different writer, or if they thought the whole column was unnecessary and should be taken out of the college publication.  

Of the 200 people surveyed, 139 were in favor of the sex column; 41 liked the column but not the name of it; 12 said they were against the author’s views on sex; leaving the last eight to be against the article in its entirety. 

Zach Smith, a freshman general education major from West Jordan, said he liked the idea of talking about sex in a college setting.

“We all know what’s happening with students behind closed doors,” Smith said. “Why keep it a secret? It’s one of the topics I know I would actually read.”

Smith also said he thinks it will be a useful article for students with questions.

“Everyone knows it’s a touchy subject, and that’s why it is causing so many problems,” Smith said. “I think the article can clear up any questions or thoughts people might have involving the topic.”

Others who were in favor of the column said it was because of the actual subject itself. Hanna Condie, a freshman biology major from West Valley, said she reads it for comedic relief.

“It brings all of the things I like to read about into a local setting,” Condie said. “I’m the kind of person who reads Cosmo just to laugh at it, and that’s what this article is doing. It is making a touchy subject laughable, even for people who have never had sex.”

Even though some students agreed with author’s stance on the column, they did not agree with the name.

Michaelynn Tervort, a sophomore general education major from Richfield, said the name is catching people off guard.

“The word ‘erotic’ just seems more dirty than the word ‘sex’,” Tervort said. “The content of the article was less than erotic, so I think the only reason people have a problem with the column is because of the name.”

However, there were students who did have an issue.

Logan Wongsuwan, a freshman general education major from Kearns, said he had no problem with the idea of the column, but the article itself was not written up to his standards.

“I felt like it was poorly written,” Wongsuwan said. “The idea of it was fine, and I was excited to read about it, but it was not up to par for how I thought it should have been written.” 

There were also the people who did not agree with the content of the article at all.

Brynn Peterson, a freshman general education major from Austin, said she was unsure of the content.

“It shocked me a little bit to think about the image that it gives to our school,” Peterson said. “When I was looking at schools to choose from, I almost did not come to Dixie because of the connotation of it being a party school. Talking about things that happen at parties in a news article is restating what everyone is already thinking about our school.”

Conner Snyder, a sophomore business major from South Jordan, agreed with Peterson and said he thinks it will desensitize people. 

“We are in Utah and we know everyone is sensitive toward everything,” Snyder said. “It’s shocking to have these types of things in the media alone, but our own public media makes it even scarier. I want St. George to keep up with the image that the rest of the state portrays, which is that we are a clean community.”

While students can agree to disagree, the numbers reflect the true feelings of most students.

DSN plans to continue the column.