Think you’re a sex-pert? Tuesday evening in Gibble Auditorium, the Student Wellness Center and the Student Wellness Advocacy Group (SWAG) hosted “Sexy Trivia” as part of their Take Care Tuesday series for students. The event was hosted as part of “Get Yourself Tested” month. As part of the event, students were invited to take part in an evening of trivia on various aspects of sex, such as various forms of protection, birth control, anatomy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention.
The event was hosted by Planned Parenthood and featured community health educator Kelly Gainor. Her job is to go to schools and different community organizations to talk to people about sex. “I talk to people about sex for a living,” Gainor said. “So I have the best job on the face of the Earth.” Planned Parenthood is an international organization that serves as a health care provider, educator and advocate for women and women’s health. The organization provides information on reproductive health care, sex education and other information people around the globe. Planned Parenthood’s mission statement reflects their belief in well-informed reproductive healthcare for all.
“Planned Parenthood believes in the fundamental right of each individual, throughout the world, to manage his or her fertility, regardless of the individual’s income, marital status, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, national origin or residence. We believe that respect and value for diversity in all aspects of our organization are essential to our well-being. We believe that reproductive self-determination must be voluntary and preserve the individual’s right to privacy. We further believe that such self-determination will contribute to an enhancement of the quality of life and strong family relationships.” The organization strives to provide “comprehensive reproductive and complementary health care services in settings which preserve and protect the essential privacy and rights of each individual,” in addition to providing reproductive education and other services.
To start off the event, Gainor asked students if they had heard of Planned Parenthood. She asked students to name some services and products that Planned Parenthood offers, such as condoms, emergency contraceptives, counseling, exams, screenings, reproductive healthcare information and testing for pregnancy, STIs and HIV. “There are a couple of great things about Planned Parenthood specifically,” Gainor said. “First, all of those services are based on a sliding scale fee, which means that you can only pay what you can afford. So, if you’re a poor college student, you look at a reduced rate at Planned Parenthood, and sometimes you may even get those services completely for free.” She went on to say that condoms at the organization are always free to anyone visiting.
“Secondly, our services are completely confidential,” Gainor said. “No one else needs to know your business. Planned Parenthood isn’t here to rat you out to your parents or anyone else. Planned Parenthood is here to make sure that you get the services that you need.” In addition to the range of services, reduced rates of products and services and confidentiality, Planned Parenthood has locations all over the country. There are two sites close to campus, located in Harrisburg and Lancaster. Gainor emphasized that these locations are very helpful to students who are in need of reproductive information, health services or other products.
Gainor continued the trivia-based event with “Sex Jeopardy,” where students split into teams to answer questions about sex in different categories, ranging from prevention to STIs to protection. During this time, students attempted to answer questions about various aspects of sex to earn points for their teams. During the game, students learned different information about topics that they may not have known before, such as symptoms of STIs, parts of the genitalia and effective uses of birth control. Following the trivia, Gainor gave a demonstration of how to put on a condom correctly and answered students’ questions.
“Sexy Trivia” is the second to last event on the Take Care Tuesday schedule. The last event of the semester is a film screening of “Sin by Silence,” a film revealing the lives of women behind bars for killing their abusive partners. The event will be hosted on Tuesday, March 22 in Gibble Auditorium at 8 p.m. and is co-sponsored by SAGE and The High Library. Discussion with Assistant Professor of Sociology Rita Shah is to follow the event. All Take Care Tuesday events are free and open to the public.
