Healthy Relationships Week is the new, more inclusive name for Dating, Engagement and Marriage Week. The name was changed to be more open to single students, some of whom felt the week was for couples only.
“We’ve changed the name three times,” said Ian Cosh, vice president for community and international engagement. “We went from Marriage and Family Week … to Dating, Engagement and Marriage Week … but people still thought it wasn’t free enough because dating sounds a lot more formal.”
Judy Duvall, assistant director of the Elrod Center, said dating has not always had this connotation.
“The ‘dating culture’ at OBU has certainly changed from the time my husband Scott and I were going to school here,” she said. “At that time, it seemed like girls and guys went on dates without the fear of being labeled ‘in a relationship.’“
The name is not the only thing that has changed about the week. In another effort to be more inclusive, an interracial couples panel has been added to the schedule. Six students will share their experiences of being in an interracial relationship.
“We had feedback from the ROMS [Reaching Out to Multicultural Students] group who made that suggestion,” Cosh said. “So, we talked with them and thought that sounds like a worthy topic.”
Another two additions to Healthy Relationships Week are “The Women Tell All” and “The Men Tell All” panels where a panel of women and a panel of men, respectively, will answer questions about how the opposite sex thinks and why they behave the way they do. “The Women Tell All” was held last year, but not as a part of Healthy Relationships Week.
“There are eight girls on the panel, and we’re attempting to answer [previously] unspoken questions that guys have,” said Devan Malone, a senior speech communications major, about “The Women Tell All.” “[We want to] clear the air on this communication barrier that we seem to have where girls wonder why guys don’t do certain things and guys wonder why girls do certain things. We’ll answer the questions that they’ve always wanted to ask but never had a forum for.”
Many of the week’s events will go along with worship opportunities already held on campus, like Noonday, Chapel and Refuge. For example, Mason Hayes, a senior accounting major, and his wife will be speaking at Noonday on Monday.
“Hayley and I are not experts on dating by any means, but I do think that there are some things we did really well during our dating relationship,” he said. “It will be fun for us so share our success stories, and hopefully the students will begin putting more thought into how they are communicating and serving in their relationships. “
Becky Horne, Ouachita President Rex Horne’s wife, will be speaking during Chapel on Tuesday.
“We’ve never had a Ouachita first lady do the keynote address, so it’s very nice that Becky Horne agreed to do Chapel that day,” Cosh said. “I think the students will enjoy hearing from her.”
While Healthy Relationships Week is including more events for single students, it is still holding the dinner and retreat for students who are engaged or married. Duvall said these events are some of her favorites of the week.
“My husband and I go every year [to the retreat], and I am able to witness first-hand how much it helps the couples,” Duvall said.
For a complete list of the 2012 schedule and to see pictures from last year’s Dating, Engagement and Marriage Week, visit www.obu.edu/elrod/dating-engagement-and-marriage-week.
“I hope the week speaks to the fact that [building relationships] is an ongoing learning process that will carry on throughout life,” Cosh said. ”It’s never going to end; and that might be scary for the students, but it can also be fun, and it’s not going to get boring.
Picture by Nicole McPhate.
Caption: Dr. Bryan and Mrs. Leigh Anne McKinney speak at Noonday during Dating, Engagement and Marriage Week last year.
