"Sex, sun and safety"

University at Buffalo students leaving for spring break often think about the sun, the beach and having fun with their friends. But they rarely think about the alcohol poisoning, violence and sexual assault that can happen on their vacation away from the Queen City.
Luckily, Sub-Board I, Inc. held its annual spring break fair in the Flag Room on Tuesday to educate students about being safe while having fun on break. The fair focused on sex, sun and safety, with various booths set up to provide information about each subject.
'Being in the sun is usually equated to having fun, which is equated to alcohol,' said Jane Fischer, director of SBI Health Education. 'Sex is historically a part of spring break, and alcohol is the number one sexual assault drug. We want students to be safe while having fun.'
Fischer realizes that fun means different things to different people, so there were a variety of activities as well as pamphlets and other literature available for students and passersby.
Wellness Education Services also had a booth at the fair to further educate students, through games and pamphlets, about being safe with alcohol.
'[WES] is here because we thought that they have greater experience with alcohol-based programming,' Fischer said.
Sharlynn Daun-Barnett, the alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention specialist at WES, explained that men have more water mass while women have more body fat, which means that women reach higher blood alcohol levels with less alcohol than men.
'Even though [women] want to think of [themselves] as equals when playing drinking games, [they] have biology against [them],' Daun-Barnett said.
Daun-Barnett offered tips for all drinkers, such as only consuming one drink per hour, eating before and during a drinking session, staying with friends, not mixing alcohol with dehydrating energy drinks and alternating between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
Another purpose of the fair was to teach students about how to remain safe when having sex. Booths like 'Eroticizing Safer Sex' attracted many of the students who came to the fair because it had interesting displays and information about sex.
'I learned that oil-based lubricants can pop a condom, so I guess I'm not going to use them anymore,' said Chelsey Lonberger, a graduate student in the Library and Information Studies Department.
Lonberger was on her way to get lunch when she stumbled upon the fair and decided to check it out.
'This fair is really useful for undergrads. When I went to Canisius as an undergraduate, they never had anything like this,' Lonberger said. 'They didn't even give out condoms.'
What differentiated the fair from the others is that it offered a variety of safe-sex options like condoms, dental dams and lubrication. It also had emergency contraception (the Plan B pill) on sale for $25. Students like Lonberger appreciated the chance to think ahead.
Courtney Bauer, a sophomore psychology major and assistant supervising counselor for SBI, ran a table called 'Shark-Infested Waters' that allowed students to prepare in advance for things that could possibly happen while on break, like getting separated from their friends or waking up after a night of heavy drinking next to someone they didn't know.
'This game is about preparation and getting ready for what could happen while on break,' Bauer said. 'People going on spring break are just thinking about having fun; they don't think about anything bad that could happen. This table makes people think in advance in case unfortunate circumstances happen to them.'
Bauer believes that the fair was useful for students because many have a lot of bad misconceptions about sex. This was a chance for SBI to honestly answer questions and provide information.
Additional information about the fair, alcohol and sex can be found on the SBI Web site, healthboard.buffalo.edu, or the WES Web site, http://www.student-affairs.buffalo.edu/shs/wes.

E-mail: features@ubspectrum.com