Tuesday, March 15th, 2011. The Philander Smith College Sex Week 2011 begin with a lecture from model and actress Melyssa Ford, “Sexual Responsibility in a Hyper-Sexualized Culture”
The goal of Sex week was for Philander Smith College, located in (Little Rock, AR) to provide a forum for frank and honest dialogue among the students, faculty and staff to promote healthy behavior and good decision making with regards to sex.
The keynote speaker of the evening was model and actress Melysaa Ford. It begun with Dr. Kimbrough opening with a brief discussion about the importance of sex education along with a brief introduction of the speaker which was followed by a introduction a senior student at the college. She was greeted with hand claps and cameras. She started off with a background about hometown and how she got started by being discovered by director Little X. She advised she has been doing speaking engagements for the past six years in which she has been featured on Bet, CNN, and several shows discussing hip-hop and its affect on society.
The focus of the lecture was the increasing emphasis on sex in our society. The examples she used where on point. One example was how music videos have changed over the past decade. This was something that the audience connected with right away. One example was how the big budget videos have decreased in number. Now the quality is lower along with the budget providing more access to the market. Some of the audience remembered BET UNCUT and how it changed the way music videos where viewed by providing more adult content for its viewers.
The crowd participation was great. One of the funniest moments was when she asked the girls what guys they have a crush on and of course you had Trey Songz, Tyrese, Morris Chestnut, etc..but on girl yelled Nicki Minaj and the crowd burst with laughter..that was unexpected. I laughed myself “Wow”,lol She also turned her attention to the guys discussing “the pretty decoy” and how guys tend to become victims of unprotected sex. Throughout the lecture she would touch on topics that keep the audience engaged while still providing facts on improving their lives and making better choices regarding their sex life.
She spoke alot to the girls about taking responsibilities for their actions and building a sisterhood and not tearing each other down with by being “haters” Also, she touched on building self-esteem by letting go of the mistakes from the past. She also provided a input on how to move on with your life. I thought that was rather neat because I been to alot of lectures and not all the time does the speaker share a personal example for the audience. Melyssa Ford also has a book that she will be releasing in the near future. I will be getting a copy.
It was good for the students to have a down to earth speaker discuss such a topic in which at times is difficult for adults to rely to the younger adults. I enjoyed the lecture. The point I agreed on was the fact you have to be responsible for your actions. I am a strong believer that “True Change” starts with yourself. Society will change when people stop looking at others and look in the mirror. If you don’t like what you see do something about it, stop making excuses for your own actions.
This was my second time at the Philander Smith College and I will not let this be my last visit. I wasn’t able to drop in for the other speakers which consist of Demetria Lucas, Relationship Editor, Essence Magazine, dating expert from the VH1 series, Let’s Talk about Pep, and author and Bless the Mic: Jacque Reid, Media Personality and host, “Inside Her Story” The Tom Joyner Morning Show. I will be checking out Philander Smith College more and would also like to thank all their staff for putting together these great events.
Thank you,
Edward Block
thats cool..the youth really need something positive