Spilling the tea: ‘Tea and Consent’ video removed from O-Week program
In response to criticism of last year’s programming during Orientation Week, the Title IX office phased out the “Tea and Consent” video, which used giving someone a cup of tea as a metaphor for performing sexual acts with them.
According to Allison Vogt, director of sexual violence prevention and Title IX support, the Title IX office is now showing New York University’s “Let’s Talk About Consent” video during the SAFE @ Rice programming instead.
“We are no longer showing Consent as Tea because we heard from some students that they felt that the video makes light of sexual assault,” Vogt said. “We felt the NYU video encapsulated our messaging about consent – that students should be looking towards having safe, healthy sexual relationships and not be looking towards the line of where the encounter would become non-consensual.”
Last semester, Jones College senior Ranjini Nagaraj and Baker College junior Rebecca Francis wrote an opinion piece for the Thresher urging the office of well-being to exclude the tea video from the “Sexual Assault Free Environment” O-Week presentation, criticizing the video’s trivialization of sexual assault.
“The importance of the topic the video addresses is lost as people remember only the associated laughter and silliness in the weeks and years following their O-Week,” Nagaraj and Francis wrote.
Vogt said she hopes the changes will improve buy-in to the messaging.
More from The Rice Thresher

Rice to support Harvard in lawsuit against research funding freeze
Rice, alongside 17 other research universities, filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Harvard University’s lawsuit against the Trump administration over more than $2 billion in frozen research grants.

Mayor Whitmire discusses ‘the state of Houston’ between audience protests at Baker Institute
John Whitmire’s remarks on the city’s budget, transportation and infrastructure were interrupted twice by shouts from audience members at a Baker Institute event May 29. At the event, which was open to the public, Whitmire spoke about the current state of Houston alongside former county judge Ed Emmett.
Rice reaffirms support for international students after Trump administration targets Harvard
Rice and the Office of International Students and Scholars said in a May 23 email that they are monitoring the Trump administration’s actions towards Harvard to bar the school from enrolling international students. A federal judge temporarily halted the move less than 24 hours later.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.