By snoadmin
Most students do not think about how hard it is to put a condom on after a night of drinking, but Thursday’s Sextival event had students wearing “beer goggles” – which simulate the effects of being drunk – while attempting to put condoms on prosthetic penises.
The event, which generated a large crowd on the lawn in front of the Speaker’s Platform on Thursday, aimed to educate students on safe sex and the services on campus available to them.
Heidi Burkey, coordinator of the Health Resource Center, said she has worked at many educational health events over the years. She said that she thinks the intriguing name of this particular event might have contributed to the high number of students in attendance.
“We thought the name would draw more students, and so far it’s been very successful,” Burkey said.
The event featured eight organizations on campus, including Counseling and Psychological Services and the LGBT Resource Center.
Burkey said that the goal of the event was to promote sexual health awareness to prevent unintended pregnancies and HIV.
“A lot of students have a lack of knowledge about how to prevent pregnancies,” Burkey said.
Associated Students Inc. Chief of Staff Jorge Soriano said he used to work with Student Health Services (SHS) and that in his experience, students frequently visited SHS to get answers to their questions.
“An average student doesn’t have the opportunity to learn about these things that are really important,” he said. “They’re learning about it in a fun way here today. There [are games and candy], so I think it loosens people up and allows them to talk about these important things.”
The event also featured trivia questions and a wall where students could write how they would express themselves to their partners.
Many students walked through the Sextival and participated at the many tables at the event. One of the students was sophomore political science major and ASI Senator for the College of Liberal Arts, Deshe Gully.
“In high school, I never had a traditional sex class, so something like this was very helpful,” he said. “They showed me how to put on a condom. I learned about HPV. Guys don’t get any signs of it, so it was pretty vital.”
Another reason for this event being held was to promote STI testing, safer sex, talking to your partner, using a condom with your partner and getting tested.
“Our clinic offers free testing, so it is really important to make sure that they understand that,” Burkey said.
Sextival is expected to be held again next semester in April, according to Burkey.
