Northwestern offers “Sex 101” program to combat sexual misconduct

With all the talk about tackling sexual misconduct on the nation’s college campuses, Northwestern University has started informing freshmen students about their bodies in “sex 101.”

For example, incoming first-year men may not realize drinking a few beers can cause erectile dysfunction. And first-year women may not know their menstrual cycles can change radically when they go to college, affecting when they are fertile and at risk of getting pregnant.

This new online class features 3-D animation and is expected to teach students such things but also demystify sex organs, contraception, fertility and STDs, the Northwestern University News reported on Tuesday.

The free Massive Open Online Course, or MOOC ,is being launched next Monday in Chicago particularly for Northwestern first-year students to teach them about their sexual and reproductive health. But the information is open to any student, anywhere at any time.

“This is everything first-year students need to know about sex and reproduction, and didn’t know to ask,” said Teresa Woodruff vice chair for research in obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who created the class.

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 2:32 PM with the headline "Northwestern offers “Sex 101” program to combat sexual misconduct."