On Mon., Feb. 12, Peer Health Education (PHE) and First Year Suites (FYS) Resident Assistants collaborated to host a Condom Casino event. It was used as an opportunity to engage with FYS residents and teach them about the importance of safe sex and the use of condoms.
Dayna Franzel, a fourth-year nursing major, Peer Health Education’s Sexual Responsibility Coordinator, and a First Year Suites Resident Assistant ran the Condom Casino.
“Safe sex is super important for everyone of all ages, but especially college students,” she said. “I feel as though most public schools do not teach about sexual health besides abstinence, which is not for everyone. Teaching abstinence doesn’t provide students with the knowledge and tools to have healthy and safe sexual encounters and doesn’t prevent students from having these encounters.”
Franzel focused on the purpose of the PHE office.
“The PHE Office aims to help educate students about safe sex while destigmatizing these conversations.” She said. “It’s important that students know this information and have the resources to make the best decision for them if or when they choose to have sexual interactions,”
Shifting focus to data and statistics, Franzel shows the need for sexual education on college campuses,
“A majority of STD cases in the US occur in those ages 14-24. While many can be cured, there are quite a few that cannot and hold major health consequences,” she continued. “1 in 2 people in their life will contract Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), which is not curable and is the number one leading cause of cervical cancer.”
Mixing education and a fun night of games allows PHE to destigmatize the conversation, as Franzel mentioned earlier,
“The [Condom Casino] event came from the idea from wanting to do an educational game night,” she said. “We had expired condoms sitting in our office that could no longer be used, but the idea stemmed from using the expired condoms as chips to play with in the card games.”
Each student at the event was given ten condoms to start with. They used them as “chips” in Uno, Black Jack, Russian Roulette, and a sexual health trivia table.
The expired condoms were put to good use as Franzel explained how the students could win prizes at the end of the night.
“After students were done playing, they could turn in the condoms they earned for goody bags, candy, or a drawing for a Roku TV.” She said. “We also had mocktails and non-expired condoms available for everyone! It was a great experience and I hope to see it done again in the future,” The PHE office is located by the Marketplace at Doan in Doan 105 and is frequently decorated to advertise helpful and friendly tips about sexual education.
