By Mia Alvarez
On Oct. 22, Student Health Services held a Halloween themed drug-awareness event next to the Brotman Hall fountains to foster awareness and safety around substance use, as well as highlight supporting resources for the student body.
Formerly known as Oksoberfest, the Haunt and Seek event has been hosted annually for almost 10 years to promote safe partying during the Halloween season, according to the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD) Coordinator Heidi Ortiz.
“We provide resources on substance use and offer Narcan spray at Student Health Services,” Ortiz said. “Narcan is a medication that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose and is available for free, along with fentanyl testing strips.”
The event also featured various interactive booths run by peer health educators, decorated in the Halloween spirit.
One booth invited students to try their hand in a witch hat ring toss game while wearing vision impairment goggles that stimulated the effects of marijuana and alcohol.
Among them was James Rodriguez, a first-year business finance student.
“I came because it looked interesting, and it caught my eye,” Rodriguez said. “The ring toss was a big difficult, but I was the first one to make the ring, so I feel pretty good.”
Matthew Quinonez, also a first-year business finance student, added, “It seemed interesting, and they had vision impairment goggles that I wanted to try out. It felt hard; I thought it was going to be easy.”
Matthew Quinonez stepped up to the ring-toss challenge at the Student Health Services’ Haunt and Seek event while wearing vision impairment goggles on Oct. 22. Photo credit: Mia Alvarez
Some students discovered the event while passing the main walkway towards Brotman Hall, and others, like second-year linguistics major Samantha Acosta Vasquez, found it through Long Beach State’s event directory site, Events & Orgs.
“I didn’t know it had to do with sobriety, but I thought I might as well see it after my class,” Vasquez said. “My favorite booth was the marijuana goggles because it was interesting to see how it could impair my vision. I gained information for myself, and my friends, about the importance of not driving while high.”
Other booths like spin the wheel also offered knowledge-based activities that aimed to educate students on the effects of substance use and promote safe practices.
Peer health educators, who said that they undergo intensive training, ran these booths and provided information about the services offered by the Office of Wellness & Health Promotion.
These resources included free smoking and vaping cessation support, nicotine patches, gum and lozenges.
Long Beach State students took on the challenge of walking the line and pinning the nose on the pumpkin while wearing fatal impairment goggles on Oct 22. These goggles simulated various levels of alcohol intoxication, providing a powerful lesson on the impacts of alcohol. Photo credit: Mia Alvarez
Ortiz emphasized the importance of these resources and said, “We want to convey the message that it’s important to have a good time, but also to educate yourselves and be aware of potential harms. ”
Students can follow Student Health Services on Instagram at @csulbshs for weekly updates and information about upcoming events, services and wellness promotions.
The Office of Wellness & Health Promotion is located on the upper floor of Student Health Services in room 268.
For those in need of more in-depth support for substance abuse, SHS also offers connections to individual support and various free resources to help students quit smoking and vaping.
