On Thursday in the Science Center’s atrium, Albion College’s Students for Reproductive Justice (SRJ) held their annual sexual wellness fair. Activities included games like Menstrual Cup Pong, Pin the Dick on the Dick, Sperm Toss, Dildo Ring Toss, drinking specially curated mocktails with penis straws and attending various organizations’ tables giving information about sexual health and safety.
On and off-campus resources co-sponsored and attended the event, including Planned Parenthood Clinics and Advocates, Sexual Assault Services of Battle Creek, the Calhoun County Health Department, Anna Howard Shaw Center for Gender Equity, Diversability, the Earth and Environment Club, Albion College Democrats, WGSS Committee, Active Minds and AC Drip.
President of SRJ and Iron Mountain senior Mo Hernandez said that the sexual wellness fair is their “largest (event) of the year, and the purpose is to allow both on and off-campus clubs and organizations to come together and show students the access they have to resources.”
“The goal of the event is to make sexual health fun,” Hernandez said. “As a group, our goal is to inform students about reproductive health and why it matters, as well as how it bleeds into other parts of your life.”
The fair featured several booths that provided educational tools, safe sex materials and free items such as pins, stickers, condoms, dental dams and more. Each booth had members who talked about the importance of accessible contraception and safe sex practices through games and pamphlets.
Ellie Grossman, a representative from Kalamazoo’s Planned Parenthood health center, said they were at the fair to bring attention to the location.
“We know there’s not a Planned Parenthood clinic in Albion so we definitely wanted to make the trip out here so students are aware we are close by,” Grossman said.
Director of the Anna Howard Shaw Center for Gender Equity and Victim Advocacy Mikayla Campbell had students participate in a game highlighting the importance of using protection with multiple sexual partners to help avoid the contraction and spreading of sexually transmitted illnesses (STIs). Each individual had three different colors of construction paper, representing common STIs such as herpes and chlamydia. Students then exchanged pairs of these papers three to four times, to show how quickly and easily these illnesses can spread.
The Calhoun County Health Department Clinic table was hosted by Nurse Practitioner Michelle Thorne and Program Support Specialist Andrea Aguilar, who provided information about the Albion clinic’s services. Located just behind the Bohm Theater, the clinic provides services for HIV and STIs, family planning, pap smears, birth control access, pregnancy tests, immunizations and more.
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