A sex lecturer paid for by required student activities fees at a public university will teach college kids masturbation techniques and give away sex toys at a Monday evening event.
Former Planned Parenthood employee Megan Andelloux will be speaking at the State University of New York at Oswego on October 7. Her lecture, "Getting a Grip: Mastering Your Sexuality," is featured on the university’s website and also on Andelloux’s site.
Students at Oswego will learn "masturbation techniques" and also "what other people are secretly into" during the two-hour forum, according to the lecture’s description.
The student group Pride Alliance invited the sexologist to Oswego. As with other groups and clubs on campus, Pride Alliance gets its funding from Oswego’s student association that distributes funds from required student activities fees.
Each student at Oswego is required to pay $97 in activities fees per semester.
Students at a University of New Hampshire lecture by Andelloux last week were treated to sex toy giveaways. Those who attend the Monday night lecture at Oswego will also get freebies.
Andrew Metz, the vice president of Oswego’s College Republican group, said he doesn’t necessarily have a problem with a student group hiring whomever they want on campus. However, Metz said funding for certain liberal groups on campus far outweighs the conservative groups, resulting in more liberal speakers such as Andelloux.
"We have a lot more of those speakers than conservative speakers," said Metz. "I just want equality. … I just would like to see more variety."
He said funding to student groups is based on membership and liberal groups on campus have far more members than conservative organizations.
Peter Sprigg, a senior fellow for policy studies at the Family Research Council, questioned the educational value of Andelloux's presentation.
"I question whether it shouldn't simply be classified as pornography rather than education," Sprigg said. "If this had a legitimate educational function, you might expect it to take place in a psychology class or a physiology class. I would think that student activity fees usually pay for things like concerts—entertainment events. In fact, I suspect that's what this really was."
"Both taxpayers and other students who find this offensive have good reason to complain about their money being used this," Sprigg said. "If such an event is going to happen at all, let those who want to attend pay for it by charging admission."
The sexologist’s curriculum vitae shows she is a popular speaker and was hired for 70 speaking engagements at universities from 2012 to 2013. In 2011, she gave 34 lectures at various colleges, and in 2010 she gave 22 lectures.
Andelloux is also scheduled to give her orgasm lecture on November 11 at Bay Path College. She has appeared at that school in the past. She will also be a featured speaker on November 14 for Columbia University and Barnard College students, according to her event schedule. Tufts University, which has hired her in the past, will feature Andelloux on November 4.
Andelloux’s most popular lectures include Orchestrating Orgasms, Fornication 101 and Get Wet: Understanding the Connection Between Sexual Plesure, Health and Advocacy. Other popular lectures at many colleges include Lube, Vibrators, Sex Toys-Oh My, How Many Licks Does It Take?, and Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Orgasms.
College newspaper reviews of Andelloux’s lectures have noted her inclusion of pornography in her lectures.
The Daily Collegian, the student newspaper of the University of Massachusetts, wrote that she showed a "pornographic video" when she spoke there in April.
The Scarlet, the college newspaper for Clark University, also reported that pornography was shown during her lecture.
"One of the more shocking moments of the night was when Andelloux presented a video of Betty Dodson, ‘the grandmother of masturbation,’ holding a workshop with a group of middle-aged women who were exploring their genitalia together. The audience was also shocked by an amateur pornography scene in which the female player ejaculates," the paper reported.
While Andelloux was invited by student organizations for some lectures, administrators have also booked the sexologist to speak to students.
A majority of the campus organizations that hosted the speaker were women’s groups, feminist organizations, and gay and lesbian groups.
Andelloux, also known as OHMegan, states that her past work included a stint at Planned Parenthood.
However, her Facebook page states she is still affiliated with Planned Parenthood.
It says, "Works at the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health, Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance and Planned Parenthood Action."
Her Tumblr page includes photos of a skull, vertebrae and jars that have dead babies. A caption below reads, "I love all things medical. Look at all the time that went into making these things so beautiful and well kept. It’s hard to choose the prettiest one."
Ivy League universities who have hosted the sexologist include Harvard, Brown, and Yale.
Andelloux has also appeared at the University of Tennessee several times. Earlier this year funding for the student group that hosted the lecture was cut due to outside political pressure.
However, the forum was able to proceed because of private donations and one large donation from Planned Parenthood.
"The only large donation we got was from Planned Parenthood, and they gave us $1,000 from their emergency relief fund," one of the group’s members told Generation Progress.