You may see one of the SPECS peer-educators walking around campus, sporting our luxurious navy blue merch and dragging a (slightly broken) cart teeming with goodie bags and sex “supplies,” and think: “Huh?”
We get it, but what many of you may not know is that SPECS is more than orientation week’s (insanely popular) Sexy Bingo.
SPECS — Sex-Positive Education for College Students — is a year-round peer-educator organization dedicated to empowering Middlebury students with the knowledge, skills and resources to make healthy and informed decisions in what we hope to be a community-wide sex-positive environment. Our multifaceted approach to sex-positive education includes group and public workshops and initiatives regarding consent, anatomy, pleasure and STI awareness and destigmatization. More than ever, SPECS is striving to increase our community engagement and outreach, with a critical avenue being the establishment of a column in The Campus: ‘SPECS Panther.’
You might once again be asking, “Huh?” What we really mean is that we are committed to bringing a sexy, fun and cool representation of a MiddKid who is properly equipped with inclusive and accurate sex-positive information. We recognize that Middlebury students come from all walks of life where their experiences with sex education can vary from none to extensive. We hope that through SPECS, all can be armed with an expansive toolkit so that every MiddKid is empowered to make sexual decisions that best suit both their and our community’s health, safety and comfortability. Our SPECS panther mascot symbolizes the pillars of the organization, as well as the goals of our umbrella office that funds us: Health & Wellness Education. In fact, the SPECS faculty advisor, Karly Beavers, assistant director of Health & Wellness Education, provides a layered, nuanced and professional lens to our training. No two Middlebury faces, experiences or expressions of sexuality are the same, and each person’s individuality and diversity are traits that SPECS strives to cherish.
Yes, it may look silly that we are sporting a posed panther on their side as the emblem for our organization, but that very fact is one of our most fundamental goals: bringing a lighthearted side to sexuality. We know and recognize that many groups of people have difficulty and face systemic obstacles to obtaining and experiencing sex-positive information and action, ranging from societal white supremacy, heteronormativity, transphobia, misogyny and ableism. Thus, it is paramount that there be an outlet for low-stakes, inclusive and conscientious discussion about sex on Middlebury’s campus — made accessible, sexy and welcoming in the form of the panther.
Now, you’re probably still wondering, “What does SPECS actually do?” Do not fret, dear reader, it’s a lot more than you may think! SPECS has workshops, both for the public and for specific groups like sports teams, affinity groups and special interest houses. SPECS strives for a symbiotic relationship with the campus. Sometimes we directly reach out, and we also encourage interested groups to email us, Instagram DM us or ask an anonymous question. Year-round, we offer a range of selected content in the workshops, including “Pleasure,” “Yes! No! Maybe! Consent and Communication,” “FYI’s on STI’s” and a holistic combination of “It’s Your (Sex) Life.” Through our dynamic education model that incorporates viewer participation, partial lecture and demonstrations, periodic check-ins for questions and an overall safe and comfortable environment for all parties to actively engage and learn, our workshops aim to uplift individual and collective awareness and well-being.
SPECS Panther seeks to educate and spark independent dialogue, not be the end-all be-all resource on campus. As Feministing editor Maya Dusenbery succinctly put it in 2015: “Seriously, God help us if the best we can say about the sex we have is that it was consensual.” At SPECS, we promote the vast outlets and resources found on and off campus, whether that be for emergency contraception, reproductive health care, condoms, STI testing, reporting or gender affirming care. The bar for sex should not be simply agreeing to it, but incorporating critical communication skills, knowing what you and your partner like and may not like, being cognizant of substance intake, leaving your assumptions at the door and ultimately keeping it fun. We look forward to future installments of our column, where we will delve into specific, relevant and interesting topics, including sexual scientific concepts, current news and debunking tropes.
At this point, you are probably (hopefully) nodding along, but may be thinking, “What can I do to make a difference on campus?” Again, the answer is a lot more than you think. Perhaps the biggest challenge to safe and positive sex-education is the danger of silence. Not just a Middlebury phenomenon, silence often holds the keys to furthering stigmatization, creating hostile environments, forcing prejudices onto one’s self and others and closing your ears to information that challenges assumptions. In fact, one key theme SPECS highlights is disproving common sexual misconceptions, while bringing to light other unexpected truths. For an individual on campus like yourself who wants to contribute to sex-positivity, an easy and subversive tool is to simply talk about it (and I know that we all love to talk on this campus). Using the knowledge, expertise and resources we promote and discuss at SPECS, we encourage you to help break down the walls of stifling silence by engaging in conversation — wherever, with whomever, and about whatever is most comfortable, easy, and safe for you. We at SPECS are your peers — we do not enforce behaviors or tell you what you can or cannot do with your body, but instead we paint a holistic picture of positivity, safety and inclusivity that chips away at a healthier and happier student community.
Now the question we ask to you all is, “So now what are you going to do?...”
Editors’ Note: Aiden Levy is a member of the class of 2025 and a SPECS Peer Educator.
