You may have noticed there’s a lot of sex in the Stater today.

We feel it’s important to talk about sex because, well, people are always having it. And even if you aren’t sexually active, it affects your life in some way. For one thing, your parents had it. And your grandparents, and their parents and everyone before you. That’s why we’re all here!

When it comes to sex, people are often afraid of communicating with their partners about what they want. But it’s the communication that makes sex so great. Being able to open up and share what interests you, what makes you feel good — it’s a level of intimacy that makes things all the more better. You can lessen the awkward encounters of pretending to be having great sex and actually have GREAT sex! So open your mouths and share your opinions, be assertive, do the deed and make it good.

But sex isn’t a one-dimensional issue. It’s not just the act of actually having sex. It’s contraception, sexual health, safety, sexuality, communication, exploration and the understanding of self.

We understand sex can be an uncomfortable subject to discuss, and for some it might be a taboo subject. This issue is not intended to pry into individuals’ personal lives, put intimate details on display or encourage students to have or abstain from sex. It’s our intention to educate and inform our readers on some of the issues and trends surrounding the topic.

For example, senior reporter Nicholas Hunter wrote a story about how studies are finding college students are actually having less sex. He talked to experts in sexuality about dating apps deterring people from having sex, and whether having less sex even matters in the grand scheme of things.

Our opinion section features a column from Lyric Aquino about destigmatizing sexual activity and some sex tips from Shelbie Goulding, along with some eye-opening words from Cameron Gorman about the importance of destigmatizing HIV.

We have stories about sugar babies, STDs and contraception, abstinence, kinks and some more Valentine’s Day-related content. 

At the end of the day, as managing editor McKenna Corson says, “Sex sells, baby.”

We hope you enjoyed our little spin on things in this Stater sex issue. It’s our gift to you.

Happy reading.

(And remember the Stater is free; it just made us laugh.)