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UAlbany Continues Commitment to Educating Students on Sex-Related Issues with its 24th Annual Sexuality Week Series

ALBANY, N.Y. (February 5, 2007) -- Workshops on topics related to sexual health, relationships and communication, sexual orientation and gender will be the centerpiece of the University at Albany's Sexuality Week 2007.

In its 24th year, Sexuality Week -- coordinated by the Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program and University Counseling Center -- will bring together college students, faculty and staff to discuss critical issues, choices and concerns.

The week-long series of programs for Sexuality Week, funded by UAlbany's Student Association, will be presented by experts with the goal of encouraging learning, dialogue and critical thinking to move Middle Earth forward in its mission of prevention and education.

"College students' concerns related to gender issues, HIV/AIDS, relationships, identity, and reproductive health have remained at the forefront," said Dolores Cimini, director of the Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program and assistant director for the Prevention and Program Evaluation at the University Counseling Center. "In recognition of the importance of such issues for students, programs within Sexuality Week reflect these key themes. In this way, we hope to meet the needs of our students as well as to provide a retrospective and prospective look at the issues."

This year's keynote speakers are sex and relationship educators Marshall Miller and Dorian Solot, who will present "The Female Orgasm" – a humorous, educational program about women's sexuality and pleasure.

The event will be held at 8 p.m. Feb. 13 in the Campus Center Ballroom.

There will be a variety of films and workshops throughout Sexuality Week 2007. In addition, Project SHAPE: Sexual Health And Peer Education, will be hosting a series of exhibits on sex-related topics in the Campus Center lobby from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb.12 through Feb. 15.


Thursday, Feb. 8

Friday, Feb. 9

Monday, Feb. 12

Tuesday, Feb. 13

Wednesday, Feb. 14

Thursday, Feb. 15

Miller and Solot -- who have been in a relationship since 1993 -- are authors of "Unmarried to Each Other: The Essential Guide to Living Together as an Unmarried Couple", a popular 2002 guidebook for couples of all sexual orientations. Their book, "I Love Female Orgasm: From 'Right There' to 'Oh, Yeah!' and Everything in Between" is slated for publication in February.

They have presented over 250 programs at colleges and universities, businesses, churches, regional and national conferences and adult education centers across the nation.

Miller, who has a degree in sexuality and society from Brown University, has more than six years experience running HIV and STD prevention programs, including most recently as prevention education programs manager at the Research and Education Department of Fenway Community Health in Boston. Miller founded Boston's BiHealth program and the Safer Sex Educator Team. He provided multi-session counseling with at-risk clients and trained and led a team of fifty educators to conduct outreach and education about safer sex, STDs, and sexuality. Miller is also a trainer of teachers for the Unitarian Universalist and United Church of Christ Our Whole Lives sexuality education program. He was named a "Person to Watch" by USA Today.

Solot trained as a sexuality educator at Brown University and has authored several articles about the scientific study of female orgasm. As a breast cancer survivor who discovered a lump in her own breast at age 26, Solot realized that being comfortable with her own body may have saved her life. As a result, she is passionate about increasing people's knowledge and comfort with their own bodies. In addition, she is a certified birth doula, providing professional labor support to women and their partners during childbirth.



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