Abstinence group now allowed at safe-sex fairs at Pitt
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An abstinence group on the University of Pittsburgh campus will have a presence at public sex education expos operated by the student health center from now on, according to an agreement reached Thursday with school officials.
The pact came after the pro-chastity Pittsburgh Anscombe Society was told Monday it could not hand out literature in a dorm lobby near a safe-sex expo sponsored by PantherWELL, a peer health education program based in the student health center.
The reasons cited were that the newly formed society is not yet a recognized student group and that handing out literature in the lobby would impede traffic.
Joseph Petrich, a Pitt freshman who is president of Anscombe, protested the ban and asked for a meeting. On Thursday, he said he had met with Kathy Humphrey, who is Pitt dean of students, and Marian Vanek, director of student health services, and they agreed future sex ed fairs held by PantherWELL will reserve space for the society.
That, Mr. Petrich said, is all he was seeking, since both groups are concerned about student health, albeit from different angles.
"We want to work with PantherWELL," he said. "This will let us promote abstinence as an alternative to safe sex."
The university released a statement Thursday afternoon, affirming students' rights to speak freely on any topic, subject to the school's right to schedule buildings for certified student groups.
The statement noted: "From February 7 to February 11, PantherWELL had already scheduled the use of the Towers lobby area."
It further quoted Ms. Humphrey: "Anscombe has agreed to work with us to ensure that its important message and voices are heard ... We anticipate certification happening in the near future ... [then] it will be eligible to apply for the use of university space."
First Published February 11, 2011 12:00 am
