MTV News Host Gideon Yago and an MTV production crew visited Bowdoin Monday to film part of a new program titled "Campus Guide to Safer Sex."
Yago said he enjoys traveling to schools like Bowdoin to talk to students about important issues.
"I have always felt that I have the best job ever. It's great that MTV gives so much support to programs like this and I get to be a part of it. I really am the luckiest kid in America," Yago said in an interview with the Orient.
The half-hour show will cover topics including the prevention of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, and unintended pregnancy on college campuses.
The crew met with the women's varsity soccer team, residents of the Pine Street Apartments, and Quinby House, and a variety of student volunteers to gather student experiences, stories, and perceptions about sex at Bowdoin.
Producer and Director Cheryl Horner Sirulnick was impressed with the Bowdoin visit. "Everything has been just as we asked for; perfect even. We found a lot of students?guys and girls?who were very candid about their experiences with sex and protection," she said. The crew will also be visiting Temple University and the University of Washington in Seattle over the next month.
The show will include interviews and information gathered on the three campus visits, as well as personal stories about teen mothers and teens living with HIV and STDs.
The crew spent most of their visit doing "on the paths" interviews with student volunteers. Interviews were flexible but right to the point; Yago asked all volunteers about their sexual histories, and then posed follow-up questions.
"The whole goal of this is to be frank, to get people talking," Yago said. "You feel really awkward broaching a conversation about people's sex lives after meeting them for about 30 seconds, but people were willing to talk and talk honestly. I have so much respect for the people who were brave enough to talk to us."
Yago's friendly demeanor impressed most students. Alex Soto '08 said Yago was a "funny, laid-back guy."
"I didn't realize how blunt some of the questions would be," said Katie Swan '06 after an on-camera interview. "But I think what they're doing is great because people need to know...and Gideon's a pretty cool guy!"
Others were concerned about the implications student responses may have.
"The fact that MTV is here and I have a chance to share my opinion with the rest of the world... yeah, I feel pressured to participate. But I know that my little brothers and sisters watch MTV and that's not necessarily the best way for them to find out anything about me!" said Jazmin Soto '08.
Students repeatedly asked the crew why Bowdoin had been chosen.
"Most simply, we're trying to do something with a national feel, and Bowdoin's a small liberal arts college in Maine," Sirulnick said. "But more importantly, we needed someplace that would make it happen, and you all made it happen."
The program, part of the yearlong "Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself" campaign, is scheduled to air December 1, in recognition of World AIDS Day.