With broomsticks and bananas in hand, students in the Residence Halls learned about condoms, dating and sex during a National Sexual Responsibility Week event on Wednesday night.
As part of the Office of Health Promotion’s Love Well Night at the Heritage Center, students also met with a love psychic, watched skits regarding sexual consent and participated in the Condom Olympics.
The Condom Olympics included a station where students used broomsticks to test the durability of condoms and another station where students practiced putting them on bananas.
“A lot of people have misconceptions of how big condoms are and how much they can stretch,” said Rachel Crane, a health educator at the Student Health Center.
Tatiana Burton, an intern at the Office of Health Promotion, told students how to put condoms on correctly.
“Most people don’t think you can use them incorrectly,” she said. “But they have expiration dates and you have to be careful a condom doesn’t flip over.” She said that almost one in 15 pregnancies occurs because a condom was used incorrectly. However, she reminded students that female condoms work just as well.
“Some residents want to be sexually responsible,” said Sally Tran, a Residence Adviser at the U, who encouraged students on her floor to attend the event. “They were really excited and wanted to come.”
Crane said the event had different names in previous years, some of which were provocative, like the Hawaiian-themed event Get Leid. However, although the name has changed, the main message has not, Crane said.
“If you want to be safe, be monogamous and communicate. Make sure you have consent before you do anything and if you don’t want to be sexually active there are many ways you can still be intimate,” Crane said. “Be as creative as you can.”
Her suggestions for intimacy that don’t involve sex include massages and sexy text messages.
Joel Arvizo, who is a U alumnus, put on a skit to illustrate body language and signs to look for to tell if a partner does not want to have sex.
“The best way to get consent is to verbally ask for it. You can make it lighthearted if you just be honest,” Arvizo said. He also said that students can get consent from a partner for sexual activities without being awkward.
He also stressed that men shouldn’t think they deserve sex.
“You never owe a guy anything no matter how much he pays for dinner,” said Kate Mecham, a junior in political science.
Margaret Ruth, a love psychic and lifelong learning instructor at the U, fielded a wide range of personal questions from students about their love lives. One attendant asked if he should feel peer pressured into dating, while another expressed that she may date too much and doesn’t know if she should settle down. Ruth told both students that in order to have a healthy relationship, they need to find someone they share a common vision with, and to trust themselves.
“The least happy person dictates the relationship,” Ruth said. “Our relationships are the area where most people have concerns.”
Phil Meitner, an undeclared major, said that the event was a good idea.
“College is a time to experiment and without proper knowledge, things could go very wrong,” he said.
Teresa GettenStudents participated in condom Olympics Wednesday as part of the Love Well Night in the Heritage Center.