Fight the New Drug, an anti-pornography organization, is hosting an event Feb. 21 at 4:30 p.m. in room 120 of the Oklahoma Christian University Harvey Business Center.
According to their mission statement, “Fight the New Drug exists to provide individuals the opportunity to make an informed decision regarding pornography by raising awareness on its harmful effects using only science, facts and personal accounts.”
Dr. Renee Grau and her husband, Randy Grau, who attend Memorial Road Church of Christ, are the donors who brought this event to Oklahoma Christian’s campus.
“We brought [Fight the New Drug] to UCO in November,” Grau said. “It was a huge success and well-attended. From that event, it was obvious the issue of porn exposure, abuse and addiction is a problem in our community.”
The organization focuses on how pornography negatively impacts three aspects of life: the heart, the brain and the mind. According to data from the Fight the New Drug website, 4.3 billion hours of pornography were watched on a single website in 2015, which is the equivalent of half a million years. The website also asserts that pornography addiction increases marital infidelity by over 300 percent.
According to Dr. Grau, pornography use has a multitude of consequences and can ultimately be as addictive as smoking.
“We must learn that porn is linked to substance harm just like smoking is linked to lung cancer,” Grau said. “It truly is the new drug, due to the accessibility via digital media.”
Fight the New Drug is a non-religious affiliated organization, which fights human trafficking and pornography and shows how both effect mental, relational and social elements. Sophomore McKenna Box helped organize this event in association with the Eagles Health Initiative (EHI). Although Oklahoma Christian affiliates with Christianity, Box said it is important the organization is not tied with any religious group.
“I feel like it’s helpful for anybody to hear this message,” Box said. “It’s an important topic that a lot of people want to talk about. It’s a different perspective than a lot of people hear, because most people see porn as bad because God said no, but there’s a science behind it. Some people are turned off when you throw God in with saying that they should not do things, so it’s a different perspective that I feel like people need to hear on this campus.”
The Student Government Association (SGA) will provide free food from Chick-fil-a and opportunities to win giveaways, cash prizes and free “Fight the New Drug” merchandise during the event. The organization will then conduct a lecture about who they are and how pornography harms relationships, the brain and society. The event will conclude with a questionnaire.
Though he had never heard of the organization, SGA Healthy Living Committee Chair Jackson Higginbottom said he helped advertise and promote the event on campus.
“From what I understand, Fight the New Drug is a campaign not to ban pornography, not to criticize or make a stigma around it, but to attack it as a public health issue, to see it as something that is promoting negative behaviors in youth or just in general,” Higginbottom said. “They aren’t related to a religious affiliation, but they do promote evidence-based research so that kind of helps the stigma that it’s just another Christian organization.”
Students and staff are encouraged to attend the event and share information about pornography’s harmful effects with their peers. The Fight the New Drug website urges people to “think twice before giving your heart to something without a pulse—no machine can ever satisfy your basic need to bond with another human being.”
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