To contact Savant or schedule a Savant presentation, please contact savant@indiana.edu.

Savant peer educators are a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students, who have been trained by faculty and community experts to raise awareness about empowerment, gender equity, ethical living and social justice. Savants (as we call our educators) strive to equip their peers with the knowledge of recognizing, intervening in and preventing incivility, relationship violence, sexual assault, all forms of discrimination, and unethical practices in our university community and beyond. Animated by the core themes of integrity, respect, excellence, self-worth, civic engagement, ethics and social-cum-personal responsibility, our peer educators are aspiring scientists, artists and humanists, among others, whose educational messages are relevant to all classroom settings, disciplines and course topics.

Using an interactive format that encourages exploration, dialogue and debate, Savant presentations emphasize the latest relevant research in ways that are accessible to students. Each presentation includes an opportunity for anonymous feedback so that OWA can assess the quality and impact of our educational programming. To contact Savant or schedule a Savant presentation, please contact savant@indiana.edu.

The physical attraction hypothesis states that individuals are more likely to enter interactions and cooperate with others they perceive as being attractive. However, the role that social contexts (e.g., demographic structural settings based upon gender, race, and class) play in why individuals interact and enter into relationships with others, and the social networks that evolve from these contexts, are often under-emphasized. Using gender and sexual perspectives, this workshop aims at increasing the level of consciousness about decisions concerning the “taken for granted” social psychological assumptions of interpersonal relationships. Participants play a social relationships game and take a relationship quiz. The goal is for participants to leave the workshop with the ability to take a critical look at their social, romantic, and sexual relationships.

Stereotypes, Facts, and Structural Consequences;
Although sexual expression and tolerance have increased in recent years, the knowledge that individuals have about sex has not. There are many misconceptions about gender and racial differences regarding sex. Using sociological and race theories about romantic and sexual relations, this workshop highlights the stereotypes and facts about sex. Also, the workshop critically engages the “gray” boundaries concerning sexual assault. Furthermore, it draws attention to the lack of accountability structures among men, which enables them to control structural settings that place women at a social and physical disadvantage. Participants will hear and see first-hand accounts of what men think and say about women. The goal of this workshop is for participants to leave being very well informed about the hard truths regarding sex encounters and their consequences.

On college campuses, sexual assault, rape, and violence against women are reported to be up to four times higher than the national averages. Despite these startling numbers, roughly 60% of all sexual assaults are not reported. It is also documented that over 50% of the men, who commit sexual and violent acts are considered friends, colleagues, or associates of the women assaulted. Using the latest relevant research on gender, crime in general as well as sexual assault and sexual relations, this workshop aims at educating participants about the legal, structural, personal, and societal factors related to sexual assault. Like other workshops, the audience participates in a role-playing session, in which they grapple with and explore issues of consent, sexual assault and communication. The workshop is concluded on an optimistic note by emphasizing the resources available to survivors and the responsibility that all individuals are expected to have in helping to end violence against women in all of its forms.

A recent national study on college women’s sexual attitudes and behaviors revealed that instead of dating, many students were “hooking up”. The study defined hooking up as “when people get together for a physical encounter and don’t necessarily expect anything further” (Bogle, 2008). In this workshop, we explore the physical and emotional consequences of “hooking up” in terms of higher incidents of sexually transmitted disease and lower rates of satisfaction in interpersonal relationships.

In today’s world we are frequently made aware of instances when people depart from ethical behavior. In this presentation, we will explore the roots of ethics, consider ways in which ethical principles are embedded into our social and professional culture, discuss the nature of ethical dilemmas, and work together to resolve an ethical dilemma.

In a revealing quote, Mary McCarthy said that “You mustn’t force sex to do the work of love or love to do the work of sex.” Yet, in today’s society, sex is frequently misused and abused. In this workshop, we explore the alternative of celibacy as a refreshing alternative to the campus sex scene.

Media is an influential institution that academics and community activists cannot ignore. Media can be used to analyze a specific topic or concept, assist students with understanding the sociological and political dynamics of social life, develop critical thinking skills, and contribute to facilitating knowledge that crosses race, gender, class, and national lines. Despite its vitality, media can also be a “competing curriculum” for scholars. Studies document that individuals develop attitudes, values, and beliefs about issues such as gender and sexual relations as early as four years of age. This may actually be more profound now than ever before, especially with the influence of the internet, YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace. Although it would intuitively seem that multiple media outlets are beneficial, they can be problematic at times because professional communicators may be overshadowed by amateur communicators. In other words, the media market can be so saturated that the professional communicators whose main goal centers upon facts, surveillance, and reporting, go unnoticed. Along these lines, much of popular media purports an ideology that individuals need to “hot,” that public sexual acts are desired, that women should “give it up,” and that men should aim to “hook up.” With this workshop, we aim to give individuals the strategies and tools to “find, take back, and keep their righteous mind” by helping students reclaim their personal identities by developing a holistic life perspective about social, gender, and sexual relations.

In this workshop, we educate men about the implications of sexual relationships and their responsibility for ensuring that all sexual encounters between a man and a woman are consensual. We emphasize the point that sexual encounters without consent are rape as well as further explaining the legal, emotional, personal and societal factors associated with rape. We emphasize the importance of consent and clear communication. We reaffirm the positive potential of men as progressive partners, who have a great deal to offer society by encouraging, respecting and valuing women.

The goal of this workshop is to help women become more effective and assertive communicators, especially when confronted with sexual coercion.