During the afternoon of February 24th, ninth graders gathered in the Xianmian Annex auditorium for the second gateway lecture of this semester, which was given by Ms. Fox and Mr. Yelton. The lecture focused on the topic of Peer Relations.

After settling the students down, the teachers revealed the goal of the lecture: to enhance our knowledge on issues related to sex, as well as promote open and comfortable discussions around this topic. A few minutes into the lecture, Ms. Fox asked students to raise their hands if they had ever heard any offensive or misogynistic comments in their daily lives, to which many students nodded and raised their hands. Both teachers highlighted that although some of these phrases have become normalized by the number of times they appear within conversations, they are inaccurate in their natures and will certainly lead to different levels of harassment and humiliation; moreover, neglection of these aspects will become increasingly toxic within relationships, which the teachers talked about next. They explained to the students that “Consent” and “Respect” both play major parts in a healthy relationship. Students were taught how to differentiate between a joke and an offensive comment, and more importantly, how to express their stances in a relationship clearly without unintentionally hurting the other person or themselves. Mr. Yelton explained to students what a healthy relationship may look like: although it has no exact “shape” or definition of how it looks like, a healthy relationship is one in which both individuals feel comfortable and enthusiastic with their choices. The teachers concluded the lecture by quickly explaining usage of contraceptives and personal safety during sex, and again emphasized the importance of respect within relationships.

(Written by 9(7) Evelyn Zhang, 9(12) Sophia Zheng Pictures by Wenqian Wu, 9(6) Vanessa Liu Supervised by Meijun Shi Reviewed by Qian Zuo)