Marty Lobdell is retiring after 40 years at Pierce College, and Human Sexuality will never be the same.
Lobdell’s retirement was the only story on the front page of Thursday’s issue of the college paper, The Pioneer. There’s more inside – a Q & A with the departing teacher along with his regular column, Sex Talk with Marty Lobdell.
In his office, there are plaques propped on his desk and shelves, but only one meaningful enough to warrant a nail in the wall.
“For 40 years of dedication to Pierce College students. For believing in us, for inspiring us with passion, and for touching our souls. You have made all the difference. With our gratitude and love, the students of Pierce College, Ft. Steilacoom.” He didn’t see that coming when he started in 1971.
The son of a Navy family, Lobdell took his education seriously and respected his instructors. In his first year teaching psychology, when Pierce College was a nest of damp portables, he was shocked to realize not all students had the same attitude.
“It was the most disrespectful, rowdy group,” he said. “They were there for all the wrong reasons.”
So he quit.
Colleagues prevailed on him to stay, and to rearrange his methods and expectations.
“I realized I had to earn the respect of my students,” he said.
Now Lobdell is famous for that respect, said Ben Gomes, Campus Safety sergeant-supervisor.
He’s also famous for lunch.
Gomes, a single father and former student, pointed toward the cafeteria table where Lobdell brings his sack lunch every day, and where students and faculty join him. They talk about news, big issues and school.
They play a trivia quiz, which Lobdell likes winning. A hiker, climber and one of the dozen runners who’ve competed in all 38 Sound to Narrows races, he’s competitive.
“Any teacher who interacts with students is cool to me,” Gomes said of the lunches.
It was 1973 when Lobdell and sociology instructor Dennis Morton designed and started teaching Human Sexuality 180.
When Morton retired, Lobdell continued leading the class, which has always been full – usually over-full. The roster is 61 students this term. He teaches other psychology classes, as well.
Lobdell’s manner is casual, with a dash of humor. It’s a good tone for talking about the graphic elements, techniques and language of sex. He prefers examples to data because students remember them more clearly.
His tone is the same in his question-and-answer column, which on any given week could be about the G-spot, pornography or the chemistry of lust. He is not sure whether he’ll keep writing it.
The user-manual elements of Lobdell’s class are needed more than one might hope, said sociology instructor Jennifer King, 30.
King has met college students who don’t know why their bodies work the way they do, and who have no idea how to protect themselves from disease, abuse or unwanted pregnancy.
Pierce College student Amal Burini, 24, can understand that. She was born in Jordan and lives in Tacoma.
“My mom has always been shy about it,” Burini said. “Even in high school, in the sex education courses, they didn’t go into depth.”
Nature abhors a vacuum, and bad information from friends fills in the void, she said.
That applies to the emotions and relationships tied to sexuality as well. Lobdell said this can be hard on people – and on a society that pays for the damage.
Broken families, terrible parenting, sexual abuse and crimes from rape to prostitution trigger huge public costs. An education in the history and application of sexuality can help students see trouble coming, avoid it and spare us the expense.
Over the course of a term, Lobdell starts with history, ancient religions and attitudes. He tracks how they changed with time and place.
He moves on to demystifying anatomy, making students comfortable with the language of sex.
He tracks the life arc of crushes, dating, living together (or not), marrying (or not), divorcing (or not), geriatric sex (or not).
He teaches how to respect a partner, how to fight fair and get over it.
He uses the present tense when he talks about his class, hoping the college will maintain it with a new teacher. For him, the past tense will begin with his final lecture on Tuesday.
Kathleen Merryman: 253-597-8677
kathleen.merryman@thenewstribune.com
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