If you were wondering about that condom-covered lei you saw your classmate wearing or perhaps questioned why the director of the Health and Wellness Center was standing on the Drill Field adorned in a sumo suit, have no fear, it’s not spring fever.
The Health and Wellness Center, in conjunction with Student Counseling Services and Campus Activities Board, will be promoting “Safe Spring Break” on campus until Wednesday.
Health and wellness educator JuLeigh Baker said the event’s aim is to bring awareness to all of the potential dangers that can take place on a Spring Break trip from unsafe sex to drinking and driving to getting a tattoo.
The carnival-themed event included games that were simply for fun, like suiting up in a faux sumo body to wrestle a friend, and booths giving out free temporary tattoos armed with an important message.
The game “Lucky Duck,” illustrated the consequences of unsafe sex by allowing students to pick a random rubber duck that represented a consequence of unprotected sex out of a pool.
Only two ducks in the pool were unscathed by an STD or unplanned pregnancy.
Amy Christian of Student Counseling Services said the point of the game is to educate students about safe sex in a fun way.
“Some people didn’t know what HPV was and asked questions,” she said. “It is a way of giving an education without a brochure.”
Some of the diseases, like trichomoniasis, a single-celled protozoan parasite transmitted through sexual intercourse, are treatable but not curable, Christian said.
Statistics show that 7.4 million new cases of the disease crop up every year, most commonly in women.
While statistics show high contaminate numbers, some statistics showing the apathy students feel toward their chances of contracting an STD are even more frightening.
“National statistics show that anywhere from 60 to 70 percent [of students] say it won’t happen to them and it does happen to at least 40 percent,” Christian said.
Baker said the mentality students often adopt during the care-free, spring holiday can be to their detriment.
“Students often think, ‘What happens on Spring Break stays at Spring Break,’ but those activities can have long term consequences,” she said.
Students who participated in the “Lucky Duck” game were given a condom-covered lei and an informational packet including safe-sex brochures and female and male condoms. The Longest Health Center offers free condoms to students year round.
Campus alcohol and drug education graduate assistant Lauren Keenum helped plan the event. She said hopes students will walk away with Spring Break safety in mind, especially when it comes to alcohol consumption.
“When you go out, make sure you are with friends, don’t take drinks from people you don’t know and drink water in between alcoholic drinks,” she said.
The event continues today at the Sanderson Center where students can wear toxic goggles while playing video games to get an idea of how perspective changes under the influence of alcohol.
Safe Spring Break wraps up Wednesday at the Colvard Student Union, where games like Risky Bingo and the Intoxicated Golf Course Obstacle Course will be set up free of charge.
Director of the Health and Wellness Center Joyce Yates said the event is not encouraging students to stay away from certain activities, it is simply encouraging them to err on the side of caution.
“Try new things, but make sure you are safe,” she said. “Students need to do things that are fun, but safe.”