Contributed by CARP Las Vegas
On Saturday, November 2nd, over 170 attendees gathered to take a stand for a life of sexual integrity at CARP Las Vegas’s 5th Campus Talk: You Are Worth More at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Student Union Ballroom. Among the participants were five faculty members from UNLV and the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), several local ministers, and leaders from various non-profit organizations. In addition to locals, representatives from six out-of-state CARP chapters attended; they flew in from New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Texas, California, and Arizona.
With three Campus Talks directly addressing the issues of sexual integrity and sexualized culture and one all-day conference already under their belt, the CARP Las Vegas team was more prepared and confident this time around.
Leading up to this event, the Las Vegas media team led a 21 day social media campaign, posting interviews, quotes, and video clips taking a stand for sexual integrity and tackling the sexualized culture. The purpose of the campaign was twofold: to raise awareness on the topic of sexual integrity and to generate excitement for the event.
On Friday, CARP members were given an opportunity to share about Campus Talk on a radio show KCEP 88.1 FM, THE PEOPLE'S STATION.
CARP UNLV Vice President Ryota Naito, and two volunteers from Generation Peace Academy (GPA), shared their experiences growing up in a hyper-sexualized culture, their understanding of the importance of sexual integrity, and their reasoning to why they would encourage others to consider a life of sexual integrity.
General Session I: How individual choices of sexual attitude and behavior can impact yourself, your relationships and society?
The Saturday Program opened with emcees, CARP USA Program Coordinator, Jinil Fleischman, and CARP UNLV Chapter President, Chungbom Katayama, explaining the vision of CARP and Campus Talk. The theme of the conference, You Are Worth More: Challenging Our Hyper-Sexualized Culture, was inspired by the research done from previous Campus Talks and the realization that sexual integrity is the solution to many social ills. CARP Las Vegas’ hope was to define what a lifestyle of sexual integrity looks like and how we can spread the message to others.
The first presentation, “Healthy and Toxic Intimacy in Dating, Marriage and Family” was delivered by Dr. Tim Rarick from Brigham Young University - Idaho, who also spoke at the 4th Campus Talk. He defined toxicity as “selfishness” and continued on to talk about how selfless love is the key to a healthy relationship.
Next, Mrs. Marcia Barlow, Vice President of United Families International, spoke on “Causes and Trends: Feminism’s Role in our Hyper-Sexualized Culture.” Mrs. Barlow talked about how the various waves of feminism has affected society’s views on sexuality and harmed women. She instead encouraged everyone to live a life of sexual integrity as a means to invest into ourselves, our future relationships, and the future of our society.
General Session 2: How We Can Take a Stand, Together
The afternoon session featured ‘activists’: locals who are taking action to protect, support, and educate citizens of Las Vegas. First, we had a representative from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department share about the grim reality of sex trafficking in our own city. Next, filmmaker Tamia Dow talked about her passion to share the message of sexual integrity through her films. Power 2 Parent sent Nichole Mason, the Director of Program Development, to talk about the importance of being educated as voters, parents, and future parents about what message is being given at schools in the sex education curriculum.
Sexual Integrity From the Perspective of Young Adults
Considering the climate of sexualized culture and environment, it takes a tremendous amount of courage for young college students to talk about sexual integrity and this lifestyle that they are intentionally choosing. Jinil explained the history of Campus Talk and how the CARP Las Vegas team had to be willing to be ridiculed and persecuted for talking about sexual integrity on both UNLV and CSN campuses. Mia Taguchi, the President of CARP CSN chapter, shared her personal conviction in the need for the world to change through selfless love and her vision that CARP can be a model to encourage other students and organizations on campus to stand up for a life of sexual integrity and impact the hearts of the students to do the same.
This year, Campus Talk had a panel of young adults who talked about their personal experiences in living a life of sexual integrity. On the panel were Dorian and Miranda Achaval, a married couple, Irvin and Kailey, an engaged couple, and Marcus Fuller, a single person, all of whom came from different backgrounds. Each shared what sexual integrity meant to them and why they chose to live their lives practicing it.
Breakout Sessions
Both morning and afternoon sessions were catered to meet a wider range of the guests’ interests. Each session addressed what a life of sexual integrity looks like on an individual level, relational level, or on a societal level.
Standing Together
Although this Campus Talk was about standing firmly for sexual integrity, the spirit of the conference was very inviting and friendly, regardless if participants completely resonated with the perspectives being offered. That being said, in a collegiate environment where it is difficult to stand up for certain values, Campus Talk was a great place to gain conviction and stand together.
“Some of the lessons I’ve learned were not what was spoken but the people here who are just good-hearted, motivated, salt-of-the-earth people that just really want to make a difference.” - Anonymous
“Attending CARP events has always been a great experience. I learned so much about my body’s worth and how much it would benefit me to wait for sex until marriage. Something very valuable I learned was that, we usually don’t feel comfortable opening up or talking about certain subjects in some crowds, but, here, we were able to see other’s perspectives and be open about everything without being judged. I am blessed with having met people that aim for the same goals and ambitions.” - Montserrat Guzman, CARP Grand Rapids Community College, MI
“I was so moved to see students, faculty members and members of the community working together to send a message that the society needs: you are worth more. This conference was aimed to raise the awareness to the abusiveness in our over-sexualized society. When we think about issues affecting society and the world, it is easy to just look the other way, but at this Campus Talk, I learned that only when we decide to change as individuals can the society or the world change. I was inspired to see students committing to living a life of sexual integrity as a counter-force of the oversexualized trend. I am inspired by the work of CARP Las Vegas, and I am excited to share some of the lessons learned there with the Grand Rapids chapter of CARP.” - Josue Kisile, CARP Davenport University, MI
“Personally, I found the event to be very eye opening. The topics we went into were subjects I usually avoid , but confronting the problems of society through this Campus Talk gave me a better leverage to be able to face reality and take more ownership to be able to take back to my own campus in California. I want to be able to share this information to the people around me, so more people can be better informed!” - Karen Ishiguro, CARP Bay Area, CA
“I learned from this Campus Talk that sexual integrity is not just about abstinence, not having sex, or not watching porn. Kailey Teo, from young adult panel, stated clearly that sexual integrity is not a goal that is achieved once and forgotten afterwards. It is a daily habit and commitment that has to be applied EVEN within marriage. That is when I understood that ‘sexual integrity’ is not just about avoiding sex or masturbation, but it’s about learning to be true to what I believed and say - a person of integrity. A person who can practice what he preaches.” - Tasihi Minosoko, CARP North Lake College, TX
“Campus Talk gave me a lot of hope in this world; it revived my spirit in a whole different way. The theme itself, ‘You Are Worth More; is really deep. There’s a lot of people out there who are focusing on their career, trying to make money, trying to live their best life, etc., but the biggest problem that the people are missing is how much they are worth more than anything else, especially looking at the young people today. There’s a lot of sorrow in this world, people get depressed way too easily, not taking the time to reflect on how much they really mean something to this world. Once you experience having that feeling of being worthy and valuable, God will see that, and He will want you to go out there and help someone out there who is feeling that lack of confidence or love and experience that same feeling of joy. Every living being here today can make a difference in this world, and it all starts in the heart.” - Andrew Olson, CARP North Lake College, TX
“I learned a lot at Campus Talk, but I think one important thing that stood out to me was that the family is the key to solving every single problem we are facing in American society today. Many times we try to find answers elsewhere, but the simple fact is that broken families and homes are the root of many problems that we're seeing in our society today. Therefore, our society needs to focus on creating beautiful, long-lasting, God-centered families where both parents are present and where the children feel safe and loved at home. By doing so, not only will our society change, but so will the whole world. Also, Mia Taguchi, CARP CSN President, said, ‘We have a big, deep wound we have to fix, and we are trying to fix it with a little pretty band-aid. But the little band-aid will not heal the deep wound. To completely heal the wound, we need to know the actual root or source of it, and find a permanent solution on how to heal it forever. We need a long-lasting solution for the deep wound, not just a temporary solution.’
“Through what Mia said, I realized that family is that long-lasting solution! We cannot solve these world problems through politics or science.Those are just band-aids and temporary solutions. If we are not careful, and do not realize that God-centered families are the key to everything, the wound will keep getting deeper and deeper and will eventually get out of control.” - Diane Mang-Dae Kelalu, CARP Mount Saint Mary’s College, NY
“I’m inspired again and again by students here and by students in my university who in the midst of a seemingly combative, insurmountable culture - they’re like the Chinese men in Tiananmen Square standing up to the tank - and that to me is love; he wasn’t standing up out of hate, he was standing up out of love. That’s exciting for me. I’m empowered by it.
“I hope to have my students collaborate with CARP students and other students around the country more. And I hope to collaborate with other professionals and faculty members I met here; we have a lot of great ideas that are germinating and I’m hoping that we can continue to nurture those. And I’m hoping I can just carry the spirit of all y’all, the young people here--it’s really touching.” - Dr. Tim Rarick, BYU-Idaho
See more of CARP Las Vegas on their Facebook and Instagram pages. Share your story to jennifer@carplife.org!