Editors note: In this article, we note the differences between the “male” and “female” orgasm and use biological sex as the distinction between the two. Due to the heteronormative nature of the research conducted on this topic, the information in this article does not reference intersex individuals. However, orgasm is an experience that can be achieved by many individuals regardless of genitalia and we encourage readers to use this article to become interested in what may be happening to their body during orgasm.

Sexual arousal and orgasm are extremely complex biological functions, affecting numerous areas of the body from the skin to the brain...

Sex is a fantastic activity, and like any other fantastic activity, sex comes with risks...

The History of Trans*

In 2011, Eliza Gray, staff writer at Time Magazine, boldly labeled the Transgender Rights movement as America’s next civil rights struggle.

RIT’s Safe Zone training process defines transgender as an individual who is gender nonconforming, such as those who were assigned the incorrect sex at birth and later in life may or may not decide to surgically change to outwardly reflect their preferred gender identity. For the majority of the article, trans* will include an asterisk in order to be as inclusive as possible of all members of the incredibly diverse community...

When talking about smoking on campus, many students refer to the cloud of smoke outside the library as the area where students, staff and faculty who smoke tend to congregate. With the proposed campus-wide smoking ban still on the table, the discussion should not just include the library’s cloud of smoke but the people within it, too.

It seems as though smoking is not just an addiction to these students. Instead, it is viewed as something communal, relieving, freeing but that also comes with stigmas, entrapment and, with the possibility of the smoking ban being enacted, even more restrictions...

Chicken covered in red barbeque sauce, crock pots full of pasta and meatballs, a huge lasagna, roasted nuts, hard-boiled eggs and — of course — cupcakes and chocolate. Platters full of food covered every countertop and table.  My aunts were offering me dish after dish, but I couldn't eat anything they had lovingly prepared. My temporary dietary restrictions didn’t allow for any of this food. Or soda. Or milk.

I had gone raw.

For a week, I wanted to experience eating no cooked food, living on a raw food diet. The whole week was a steep learning curve of what foods were and were not allowed: fruits and vegetables were in; bread, peanut butter and milk were out...

Alcohol is woven tightly into the tapestry of virtually every culture on Earth. Deep red wines on the dinner table have become synonymous with France and Italy, while great steins of handcrafted ales bring to mind Germany and Belgium...

“Our teacher was scared of the word ‘penis,’” said second year Psychology major Lauren Harradine. Well, not necessarily scared, she clarified. “But she couldn’t say it without laughing really hard.”

When your sex-ed teacher can hardly talk about the topic due to their own embarrassment, it can be difficult to learn the information about sex that you need, and eventually hope to use. Even when sex-ed includes information about STIs, condoms, birth control and consent, there is quite a bit that is still not brought up...

We’ve all thought about it. But Pew Research reports that only one in ten people have actually signed up for an online dating site or app...

The longer people spend on Facebook, the greater the decline in “how people feel moment–to –moment and how satisfied they are with their lives,” according to a recent study conducted by the psychology department at University of Michigan...

Nestled away on a 21 acre parcel of land on an unassuming street in Pittsford, N.Y. sits a beautiful cobblestone house...

Cover: The Rochester Subway in Rochester, NY was originally operated from 1927 to 1956. Today it is in disrepair and home to the homeless. Partly filled in, the city and the public are in talks to renovate this space...

Cover: Photo: William J. Ingalls

Transgender Day of Remembrance was internationally recognized on November 20...

Four years ago, the RIT Leadership Institute and Community Service Center created the Women’s Leadership Certificate...

When people think of abusive relationships, often the first thing they think of is a man abusing a woman. According to PRWeb, nearly 1.3 million women are assaulted by their partner each year in the United States, although this number is not exact. The Domestic Violence Resource Center reports that up to six million women may be victims of abuse and that one in four women have been abused in their lifetime.

However, women are not the only ones experiencing domestic violence. Many men have been abused by their partners as well, and these cases often go unreported...

Cervical caps. Condoms. Diaphragms. Implants. IUDs. The Pill. Plan B. The Ring. Shots. Sponges. Despite the large variety of contraceptives available, a majority of non-permanent contraception methods are designed for female use, leaving few options for men.

Men need reliable, non-permanent contraception for the same reason women do: enhanced sexual agency and personal control over family planning. The only options currently available are male condoms, which bring difficulties with pleasure and are only effective for a single use, and vasectomies, too permanent of a solution for many men...

For the average American, Halloween costumes cost $28.65 in 2012. Not an exceedingly daunting number. However, there are people who are willing to pay much more...

1968: Stepping out of the dorm building into the blistering cold, even three layers of jackets and four layers of socks is not enough to protect you. And it only gets worse as you see the end of the dorm side and the beginning of the long asphalt path ahead.

 There is no bridge, no legacy walk, no brick or any other type of paving. Asphalt was less expensive and easier to maintain. Once more bricks started being added to the long path decades later, students appreciated the change in aesthetic...

This article was featured in the October print issue of Reporter Magazine. 

I walked into a tattoo parlor to get my belly button pierced – again – after my skin rejected it the first time. The piercer took one look and told me that I would never be able to have my belly button pierced again, but that I could try getting a piercing – something called a microdermal.

I was soon informed that microdermals are piercings that are inserted under the skin rather than through it. They are often called single point piercings because they have an entrance hole but don’t exit the skin. The piercing is made up of two parts: a dermal anchor and the jewel or decorative piece...

llustration by Emily Gage

At a college campus, it is no surprise to see blue hair, ten piercings on each ear or even a sleeve of tattoos...

On the way back from a Rolling Stones concert in Canada, this is the last question the man driving through the border stop expected to hear. The guard had already double-checked his citizenship, so something must have caught his attention. There was a Smith & Wesson branded overnight bag in the back, but there was no way the guard saw that and definitely not before the guard caught sight of the driver’s bare arms.

Brightly colored, Gary Proud, 1967 Accounting alumnus, has two full sleeve tattoos. The left, a colorful mural of classic rock bands such as Steppenwolf, The Doors, Johnny Cash and the like. His right, covered in the symbolism of his Greek brotherhood, Phi Kappa Tau...

Students often harp about RIT’s brick overdose. On more than one, two or three occasions, RIT has been listed as one of the least beautiful or downright ugliest campuses around...

“It’s not who I am underneath. It’s what I do that defines me.” In the 2005 film “Batman Begins” Bruce Wayne (Batman) discloses to his longtime friend his explanation for not revealing his identity. Batman, along with other superheroes, chooses to separate his identity from his actions because he does not want to have his after-hours activities affect his daily life. For the rest of us, the internet provides the same option for anonymity as the possibilities for separation between our online persona and our daily lives continues to expand.

Like those comic book heroes, there are many people who perform radical tasks and use anonymity to avoid persecution...

You’ve got to admit, people at RIT stand out. And even within our ranks, there are people who are well known for anything from their unicycle to their daily donning of a My Little Pony hat.

We interviewed some of the people on campus who caught our eye for similar reasons to find out more about their motivation and style. Whether they stand out because of their uncommon hobby, their mode of transportation or their desire to dance, these people have the confidence to do something different from the rest.

“I didn’t have a car at that point...

“Anonymity is really one of the hallmarks of the internet. A lot of people see it as one of the internet’s biggest strengths,” said Patrick Scanlon, chairman of the Department of Communications at RIT...

Recently, the RIT community has seen an exponential growth in anonymous pages dedicated to complimenting, admiring and laughing with (or in some cases at) fellow students...

“Generally registration has gone pretty smoothly. I mean obviously I don’t always get all the classes that I want or that I need. But just the biggest thing was that they didn’t offer the class I needed this quarter and since it’s a prerequisite to the other ones, that just caused issues,” explained second year Packaging Science major Morgan Moak.

In a random survey of students asked about their registration in the past, some students expressed similar feelings about registration: they don’t always get the class section they wanted and sometimes it can be more difficult to get into classes outside of their major...