Olivia Cyrus, Contributing Photographer

A group of international students gathered on Wednesday to discuss navigating healthy romantic and sexual relationships at Yale.

The event, organized by the Office of International Students and Scholars, invited students to share their own experiences and outlooks. Attendees reflected on cultural miscommunications in romantic relationships.

“I think with dating culture, people feel like nobody else is experiencing the same thing that they are or having the same questions and being afraid to ask those questions,” Molly Hampton, the office’s associate director for engagement, assessment and operations, said. “So I’m hoping people feel like they’re not as alone in this and that they have resources that they can go to, even if it’s somebody that they met at the session.”

The Office of International Students and Scholars co-hosted “Breakthrough the Bubble: Explore Dating Cultures Across the U.S.” alongside the Sexual Harassment and Assault Response & Education, or SHARE, Center. The event offered attendees pizza and featured presentations, videos and small group discussions about how to navigate healthy romantic and sexual relationships as international students.

About 20 people attended. One attendee said that talking about romance and sex is more taboo in China than it is in the United States. Another, from Zimbabwe, stated that the freedom to date in their home country is similar to the United States.

Some participants brought up the frequency of “open relationships” in America and how rules and regulations such as “don’t kiss on the first date” can complicate the dating scene at Yale.

Following an introduction from Hampton, Becca Geiger Wallen, a clinician and prevention specialist at SHARE, prompted attendees to split into discussion groups and consider how they discuss sex and dating in their culture and how American expectations of relationships are portrayed in the media.

“When we think about dating and making connections and relationships, we like to think of it as something with a very fixed, set structure,” Wallen said. “But in reality, dating, romance and friendships — all of these things are influenced by our various cultures and the places in which we get our various values and beliefs.”

Hampton noted that the event originated from the members of the community talking about challenges and their curiosity about how to navigate the dating scene at Yale.

Wallen proceeded to share a video with the group titled “Dating in Australia: Stories from International Students,” where international students discussed queer dating, using social media such as Facebook and dating apps like Tinder and understanding social norms in Australia.

“You have to decide for you what those deal-breakers are and what we should expect from relationships when you should be looking for healthy relationships,” Wallen said.

The final component of the talk entailed a discussion on consent. Wallen offered the New Haven pizza-themed acronym “SLICE” to guide the international students on how to navigate socialization and sexual boundaries. “SLICE,” stands for specific, lack of force, threats or coercion, informed, continual process and enthusiastic.

Cindy Chen GRD ’26, was enticed to attend the event after seeing it on Yale Connect. She found the talk “interesting, inspiring, and educational.”

“We explored the concept of consent and dating and sex cultures from places around the world and how to deal with maybe difficult situations that regard intimacy,” Chen said, admitting that she planned to use the lessons going forward when dating at Yale.

Hampton said she was “pleasantly surprised” by how vocal and vulnerable attendees were at the event.

In the fall of 2024, 11 percent of Yale College students were international.