By Sommerly Simser, Student Reporter

“Sex, lies and relationships” was the topic of conversation Friday night at a forum put on by Virtuous African Heritage Sisterhood (VAHS).

More than 50 people attended the open-floor discussion, which was located in the Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building.

“It’s great that there is such a diverse group here and that we can all come together and be real,” said Tina Williams, junior accounting major from Midland. “I thought it was beneficial.”

Guests were encouraged to anonymously write down any questions they had and put them in a basket where coordinator Anna Peters would read them out loud and opened the question up to everyone for discussion.

“We thought up the idea of having a forum like this to start conversations,” said Peters, junior children’s ministry and elementary education major from Houston. “It’s hard to talk to your elders sometimes, and this just proves that your peers are knowledgeable and can help you.”

Among the participants were Lotefah Bartlett and Ernesto Villarreal, who have been dating for more than a year, and provided real-life insight on a lot of the questions. Pam Pendergrass, wife to George Pendergrass, the director of the Office of Multicultural Enrichment, was also present to give practical advice.

“It went really well considering we came up with this idea only a few days beforehand,” Peters said. “The conversation flowed well, but there are so many more questions left unasked.”

VAHS plans to arrange another forum next month, and is in the process of teaming up with the Counseling Center to make podcasts that can be viewed on their Web site that will be giving advice on dating and relationships.

VAHS meets every Monday night at 7:30 p.m. in Room 112 in the Biblical Studies Building. For more information, visit the Web site at www.vahsvirtuousafricanheritagesisterhood.blogspot.com.