Our first-ever Campus Celebs are Sarah Jenkins and Matt Martin, two of the four co-presidents of Kenyon’s student-run freshmen orientation group, Beer and Sex. Sarah is a junior Drama major from Flat Rock, North Carolina, and Matt is a senior Religious Studies major from Summit, New Jersey.
If you’re wondering what it feels like to be president of an organization called Beer and Sex, you’re in luck, because that’s our first question.
HC Kenyon: What do people say when you tell them you’re co-president of Beer and Sex at Kenyon?
Sarah: When I’m at home, and I mention going back to Kenyon early for Beer and Sex, everyone thinks it’s hilarious. But then I explain that it’s an alcohol, drugs, and sex education program, and then we usually end up having a good conversation about these issues or talking about a story they have relating to beer or sex. My parents still can’t call the program Beer and Sex, though. It’s funny.
Matt: God. I have no idea. They say cool, that’s the thing that I skipped all freshman year.
HC Kenyon: What else are you involved with on campus?
Sarah: I’m an SMA (Sexual Misconduct Advisor). I’m also involved with QWC (Queer Women’s Collective) and Unity House, the GLBTQ organizations on campus. I act in plays and take voice lessons. I also run the Survivors Group at Take Back the Night, the anonymous support group for survivors of sexual assault on campus. I lead it with the help of one of the counselors from the Counseling Center. One of my goals this year is to make the Survivors Group a yearlong thing.
Matt: I’m on the football team and baseball team. I’m also the president of the KAC Heads, a student-run organization that bridges the gap between Kenyon and the surrounding community by uniting students and Knox county citizens at campus sporting events. We also raise money for organizations like the Susan G. Komen foundation and Relay For Life.
HC Kenyon: In your words, what is Beer and Sex all about?
Sarah: Beer and Sex is a student-run, student-led organization where older students facilitate a dialogue with the first years about alcohol, drugs, sexual misconduct, and safe sex/STIs. It’s not about telling people what to do, it’s about talking and being a resource. It’s also fun. It’s really fun.
Matt: It’s like having your big sibling teaching you, rather than being force-fed something.
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HC Kenyon: Why did you join Beer and Sex? Did you have any experiences at Kenyon that made you want to get involved?
Sarah: I was that kid in high school who hung out with the heavy drug and alcohol users. When I came to college I wasn’t really sure what I was doing; even though I was “experienced,” it was just a different scene. As a freshman, I attended my Beer and Sex meetings and had a good time, but I didn’t take it super seriously at the time. The meetings ended up helping me a lot, though, as some of my friends here had major problems with substances. I applied to be a facilitator for the program on a whim, and I got in.
Matt: As a freshman, I was put on every single probation possible. I stepped on a broken beer bottle with my bare foot when I was extremely messed up. I got written up [by Kenyon’s administration], and I still had to practice on my injured foot. That experience made me think about how I had messed up and what I should do from there. I realized that people could benefit from hearing how I screwed up my freshman year.
HC Kenyon: Why should freshmen go to Beer and Sex meetings?
Sarah: Freshmen should go to meetings because: a) there’s pizza; b) you meet some great upperclassmen who are there to help you out and be your friends; c) no matter how experienced you are with alcohol, drugs, or sex, Kenyon is a new environment and you need to learn as much as you can about that new environment in order to have fun and stay safe, and; d) even if you don’t drink, do drugs or have sex, you’re likely to have a friend who will and may need your help, and Beer and Sex gives you those tools and resources.
Matt: It’s a fun, interactive forum for learning the school’s policies on drinking, and it’s beneficial to know [that stuff]. It’s really important to know what to do in the event of an emergency and how to respond, and if freshmen need help, Beer and Sex advisors are there to guide them through it.
HC Kenyon: Did you go to your meetings when you were a freshman?
Sarah: I did, actually. I thought they were fun. I had really cool Beer and Sex advisors.
Matt: Nope. I hid in my room and tried not to breathe too loudly. I didn’t go because I was too cool for school. Then I got in a lot of trouble and wished that I had gone.
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HC Kenyon: Does Beer and Sex do anything else besides meet with freshmen at the beginning of the year?
Matt: We run the Polar Plunge in December, which is a fundraiser for the Kno-Ho-Co clinic in Mt. Vernon. We run into the freezing cold Kokosing River in bathing suits.
Sarah: The Kno-Ho-Co clinic is the primary women’s health clinic in Knox County. Beer and Sex is a major donor for the clinic. The Plunge is really fun, and cold.
Matt: I stand there with a megaphone. GET IN THE WATER!
Sarah: We’re also trying to do some more fundraisers for Beer and Sex this year.
HC Kenyon: This last question is for Matt: how long did it take you to grow out your beard?
Matt: 2 months. A year for my hair.