Going off to college is a real change. No matter if it’s your first year away from home or your tenth, there is always a change when you go back to school. For some it’s the place, for others it’s a vibe, but for everyone interactions are a constant change. For some, these interactions can lead to further relationships, whether it be friendships, intimate relationships or just a hookup, anything can happen. For this reason, resources are made to bring light and awareness to sexual health.
The WeCARE peer educators and Wellness and Prevention Services aim to provide resources to help students succeed in all their endeavors, whether it be in educating, providing resources or even just supporting.
One big focus of theirs is to provide prevention methods and barriers for sexual activity to ensure that students prioritize safety in intimacy.
An event the WeCARE educators host is SEXplanations, an annual event which was recently hosted on Sept. 3 in the Plemmons Student Union. This particular event provides information on safe sex practices, how to properly communicate in these situations, a demonstration of proper use of prevention methods, as well as encouraging asking as many questions as you want to ask while answering to the best of their abilities.
Some common activities of the SEXplanations event include “Say What?”, “Rate the Risk” and 10 steps. These respective activities display the importance of proper communication on all sides of a possible sexual experience, analyze possible risks; not just physically but emotionally as well, that certain sex related activities can lead to and the required steps for proper application of physical contraceptives in the event of sexual intercourse.
They also provide information on The Condom Fairy, a free resource provided by the Wellness and Prevention Services that fills requests for prevention methods.
“We provide different types of condoms, glow-in-the-dark, colored, flavored, non-latex,” Coordinator for Wellness Promotion Justin Parks said.
They also provide “dental dams, finger cots, gloves and internal condoms.” he said. This resource is available upon request via an anonymous form on their website or on flyers posted around campus.
The M.S. Shook Student Health Service offers STI testing at a lower cost than most doctors offices.
Parks encourages students, especially if sexually active to get regularly tested at health services and take advantage of this opportunity. He explained that all STIs can be asymptomatic and he wants to ensure that all students have the opportunity to be sexually active, but remain safe while doing so.
Other services provided by Wellness and Prevention include meeting with a dietician, substance use counselor as well as other counselors all for zero additional cost. Parks explained that through their class, club or organization students can also request a presentation from the WeCARE educators in SEXplanations, sex ed, nutrition, wellness or wellness jeopardy.
Parks also provided extra insight into the population that uses these resources most, he finds that there is no significant difference in who reaches out for prevention resources in the event of a sexual situation more often, that it is “a really good mix.”
He also finds that the student’s year in school doesn’t have an effect on who uses the resources.
Parks did notice that there was a trend in those who don’t live on campus. He believes the resources “don’t reach off campus students as much because they’re not here and not necessarily going to use those resources as much.”
For those who would like to learn more one can visit the Wellness and Prevention Services office in person. It is located in the Miles Annas Student Services Building, with Monday through Friday office hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Other contact information can be found on their website.
