I am a feminist. I practice safe sex, despite my admittedly lackluster Catholic high school sex-ed curriculum. I take birth control daily. I reject the existence of the concept of “slut.” I think it is admirable and necessary that groups of students are promoting conversations about the sexual harassment and rape culture that is all-too present on this campus. I am proud of my own sexual empowerment. However, I cannot support the Students for Sex and Gender Equality and Safety (SAGES) campaign and its partners.

SAGES has received substantial amounts of attention and press in the last month or so. I have immense respect for the efforts of the students who champion this cause. Their work is extensive and widely heard of, and they are incredibly well organized. I am continually impressed by how this campaign has demonstrated the reach and impact that an entirely student run movement can affect.

That being said, there is an elephant in the room. I watch the SAGES movement get larger. I read articles about SAGES in The Ram and the paper. I follow the SAGES Tumblr and Twitter accounts. I look at the flyers they hand me. I ask myself how everyone is ignoring the elephant. This issue is black and white. There are no gray areas, no ifs or buts, no justifiable arguments as to why it is reasonable that anyone would think Fordham could provide birth control and promote a sexually active campus community. How has this fact been so ignored for so long?

Fordham University, the Jesuit University of New York, is a Catholic institution. Every single student at our school chose to apply to and to attend a Catholic institution. We all signed up for this. And, the Catholic Church’s position on contraception is no secret. Unless you literally lived under a rock before you came here, it is an indefensible argument to maintain that any one of us was unaware of the Church’s stance before coming to Fordham. Catholicism unequivocally rejects anything that is intrinsically preventative to the conception of a child, whether that is the intended use of contraception or not.

To maintain its status as a Catholic university, Fordham must adhere to such fundamental tenets of the religion it advertises. Recent history evidences the fact that the Church is far from lenient when it comes to Catholics and Catholic institutions who choose to defy or ignore its basic principles. A prime example occurred back in 2009, when then-Sister Margaret McBride approved the abortion of an 11-week old fetus at a Catholic hospital due to the severe endangerment of the mother’s life. Once this came to the attention of the Catholic diocese in Phoenix, Margaret McBride was automatically excommunicated and the diocese ultimately severed all affiliation with the hospital. In other words, Catholic teaching is non-negotiable. The Catholic Church does not make exceptions — not even for one of the most liberal and influential Catholic universities in the United States.

Keeping that in mind, perhaps SAGES could refocus its attention and its message to achieve more realistic, reasonable goals. Having women’s health specialists on campus is inarguably SAGES’ most reasonable demand — and it is an important one. Fordham cannot use its Catholic identity to refuse this request.

Why don’t we have a resident gynecologist at a school where the majority of the students are female? Similarly, as the overall sentiment of SAGES implies, the entirety of the Fordham community must work to foster a healthier and more respectful environment around sex — this does not just include the rhetoric of the students, but the actions of university employees who deal with sex-related issues. Sex happens. No one can ignore or deny that. Working together to promote healthy progress in a positive way is a necessary project that SAGES has undertaken.