By: Jaasmin Foote<\/p>\n
Hood College awaits its first Safe Sex Carnival on Thursday Dec. 4.<\/p>\n
The carnival will be held in Whitaker Commons from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The purpose of the Safe Sex Carnival is to educate the Hood community about HIV, AIDS, STI\u2019S, STD\u2019s, and testing options through fun games, carnival snacks, and FAQS.<\/p>\n
Justin Fox, Vice President of the Queer Student Union, also known as QSU, said that overall, he hopes students will learn how to protect themselves from AIDS, HIV, and STD\u2019S: \u201cI hope students will learn how to find out their statuses,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s so easy and there are so many great resources in Frederick like \u2018I Want the Kit.\u2019 The company works with the Health Center here at Hood and it allows you to test yourself at home. Then, you can then bring the sample to the Health Center. It\u2019s very secure and private.\u201d<\/p>\n
The carnival is also a chance to find out about the plethora of methods used to practice safe sex. Fox said that both sexes should know every possible way to protect themselves during intercourse: \u201cYes, there are many female condoms in addition to the dental dam,\u201d Fox said. \u201cStudents will find that out at the carnival.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several student organizations and the Health Center will be in attendance and will have tables with information about the subject matter as well as games and brochures. Co-Sponsoring Organizations include: Health Center, QSU, BSU La Comunidad, PRSSA, SACC\/SPURS, Equal Sex, Last Train of Thought, and House Forum<\/p>\n
The list of activities for the carnival is as follows:<\/p>\n
\u2219The Health Center–Consent Booth and FAQS<\/p>\n
\u2219 Equal Sex–Female Condom Toss<\/p>\n
\u2219 Last Train of Thought– Condom Pop (popping condoms with a dart)<\/p>\n
\u2219Queer Student Union–Bobbing for Balls with Dental Dams<\/p>\n
\u2219 Black Student Union– Duck Pool and FAQS about STI and HIV<\/p>\n
\u2219Public Relations Student Society of America–Beer Goggle and Condoms<\/p>\n
\u2219House Forum– Pump it Up (blowing condoms up like balloons)<\/p>\n
\u2219La Comunidad–Ring Toss on a Penis<\/p>\n
Travis Eichelberger, the area coordinator for Diversity Initiatives and advisor of QSU, BSU, and La Comunidad, is looking forward to the event: \u201cIt\u2019s going to be fun. This is all of the student\u2019s hard work. They\u2019re in charge, not me. Teresa Cevallos (director of Health Resources and a member of the Safe Sex Carnival Planning Committee) and I are just here to make sure the educational aspect is included.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eichelberger also said he was excited about the event and noted \u201cif everything goes as planned, the decorations are going to be insane.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every year, the student organizations take turns leading the activities for World AIDS Day. La Communidad has been the largest contributor the past few years, but this year, QSU is playing the leader.<\/p>\n
Eichelberger said QSU wanted to do something \u201cdifferent\u201d this year: \u201cWe looked online and saw that other schools do sex carnivals, so the presidents of the student groups looked up standard carnival games and twisted them to apply to HIV, STI\u2019s and STD\u2019s in a fun way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eichelberger noted that QSU chose to do a sex carnival over other approaches because \u201cit gives all of the student organizations an opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way.\u201d\u00a0 Eichelberger said that a lot of groups are participating, but it\u2019s not too late to help out if you\u2019re interested in doing so.<\/p>\n
Eichelberger said that in addition to games, each booth will also have information specific to their community: \u201cFor example, the Black Student Union and La Comunidad will have information about how HIV and AIDS affects the African American community and Hispanic communities [and so forth and so on]. Students will get general information as well as information that applies specifically to them and their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eichelberger also noted the importance of sexual consent: \u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of work with Rape Culture on campuses, so I think the national microscope dealing with sexual assault is important. No school is perfect, but Hood is working on dealing with this as efficiently as possible, and I like that the pressure is there to make people responsible for their actions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cevallos said that in addition to a \u201ccommemoration of HIV,\u201d the carnival is a \u201cbogo\u201d because the booth will discuss safe sex, HIV and STD\/ STI prevention, as well as sexual consent.<\/p>\n
Cevallos said: \u201cSome students don\u2019t know the consequences that come with sex. The students focused on safe sex for the carnival, but the Health Center is concerned with tying in sexual consent to prevent sexual assault on college campuses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cevallos also noted that the staff at the Health Center decided to do a Consent Booth, an informational booth about sexual consent, instead of an \u201cold time kissing booth\u201d to add a modern twist on carnival traditions. She said she hopes the students will learn about disease prevention, sexual health, and sexual responsibility. She noted that the Health Center will offer raffle tickets to students that correctly repeat the FAQS at the booth.<\/p>\n
Students will have tables with information and pamphlets about safe sex as well as red ribbons from Dec. 1 to Dec. 5. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, the tables will be set up from 11 p.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, the tables will be set- up from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"