Graduate Student Raises Concerns Over Human Sexuality Course
Naomi Epps Best, a Christian graduate student at Santa Clara University focusing on family and marriage counseling, expressed her discontent in a recent Op-Ed piece.
As part of her graduation requirements, she must take a class on human sexuality, which is mandated for California marriage and family therapists. She remembers enrolling in the course during the summer of 2024 and feeling shock upon reviewing the syllabus, particularly regarding the sexual ethics presented.
One specific topic was sadomasochism, which involves deriving pleasure from inflicting or receiving pain.
A troubling aspect of the course was when students were assigned to read explicit erotic stories that she found intrusive, under the pretense that this was a necessary exposure to sexual content they might encounter in their careers.
It got worse when she and a few male classmates were put in a group where they were prompted to discuss their personal masturbation practices. Epps firmly declined, stating, “I said no.” Furthermore, the final assessment required an exhaustive sexual autobiography of 8-10 pages, featuring questions like, “When did you first start masturbating?” to which she felt uncomfortable responding.
She also mentioned a guide filled with pornographic illustrations that she found to be openly antagonistic toward her Christian beliefs. The material included vulgar depictions of various sexual acts and she was quite taken aback, declaring, “I think it’s probably illegal to force you to consume porn.”
Epps noted that the course content was not only disturbing but was deliberately provocative, stating, “That’s why we were supposed to turn people on.” She compared the curriculum to the effects of pornography, which often alters one’s expectations and brain chemistry regarding sexual experiences.
In her view, the instructor’s approach seemed inappropriate, as if they were pushing students into uncomfortable discussions revolving around fetishes. It left her questioning the professional norms that should guide such education.
