Brad Raines, senior secondary social studies education major, tries to toss a pingpong ball into the cups at the end of the table during the Safe Spring Break carnival Monday night in Webb Lecture Hall in the Memorial Union. The carnival was held to make students aware of the many possible dangers that could happen during spring break.
Giant penis cutouts with oozing sores, condom encased cucumbers, beer goggles, diapers and tattoos were all featured in games played by students at the Safe Spring Break carnival on Monday.
The event, hosted by the Health Center, SOS, GAMMA, ADAP, Division of Student Life and UAC focused on providing awareness to students about potential dangers that arise during spring break.
“We try to raise awareness so that students can decrease their risk because we all hear the stories on the news about the bad things that can happen,” said Mary McDaniel, assistant director of Student Health Services. “We want our students to have a wonderful spring break and to come back safe and rested and ready to finish up the semester.”
This was the fifth annual “Safe Spring Break,” a tradition which started after Student Health Services saw some trends following spring break.
“Years ago, we started noticing that right after spring break we had an increase in the request for pregnancy tests so we know that’s a concern,” McDaniel said. “Also, we have seen over the years a rise in the number of requests for sexually transmitted infection testing following spring break, and sometimes a rise in the number of positives.”
The event had carnival games focused on five main areas: unintended pregnancy, alcohol and drug use, STIs, sexual assault and general safe traveling. Some games included “Pop that Sore,” “Bankrupt Baby,” “Think Before You Drink” and “Crash Your Cranium.”
“It’s a little bit different every year because the nursing students who are in their community health class actually design, develop and implement all of the games,” McDaniel said. “So it’s education in the guise of carnival style games. While it’s the same topic material, it’s entirely new creation from the students that are new to that class.”
Nathaniel Enabnit, senior nursing major, helped man “Walk the Line,” a game where goggles impair students’ ability. The students have to walk a straight line after riding a tricycle.
“We’re hoping that they learn something from all of the four stations that we have (in the drinking safe category),” Enabnit said. “But the ‘walk the line’ I think is more fun and I hope that it makes them realize that they shouldn’t be driving because they’re not doing very well.”
Spencer King, freshman pre-pharmacy major, said he enjoyed the information that was presented through the games.
“The wheel of misfortune was definitely my favorite,” King said. “You could get asked a question about pretty much anything, which made it really interesting.”
Another station, where students could practice their punching, focused on self-defense. Damon Leiss, physical recreation instructor, took the hits.
“The idea behind it is that when women punch, they should try to punch as fast and as many times as possible to deter somebody if they are grabbed,” Leiss said. “I think people are having a good time with this, but I hope they are also learning a little something.”
Kelsie Jones, freshman biology major, said she found the overall event to be very informative.
“I think it’s a good way to help prevent some of these things from happening over spring break by being informed,” Jones said. “And making it interactive makes it a lot more fun.”
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