Center offers advice
Extra help is available this week for students striving to build positive relationships among friends and acquaintances.
Healthy Relationships and Sexual Responsibility Week started Monday and runs through Friday. As a part of the week’s activities, the Student Wellness Center has planned events to help educate the campus about how to develop healthy relationships.
“Our goal this week is to educate students about sexually transmitted diseases and help them make their relationships better,” said Jana Carling, prevention specialist in the Student Wellness Center.
Sexual Responsibility Week was started by BACCHUS and GAMMA, a national organization founded to help educate college students about the risks of alcohol and sexual activity.
According to www.bacchusgamma.org, the national Sexual Responsibility Week is generally held during the week of Valentine’s Day, but each campus is free to choose a week that would better fit their particular schedule. Some schools go further by declaring February Sexual Responsibility Month.
As far as events at Utah State University, the Student Wellness Center has planned an informational and fun evening Wednesday night at The Junction, Carling said. Tables will also be set up in the Taggart Student Center to allow students to enter a drawing for a free dinner for two.
Wednesday night activities include “The Dating Game” and a discussion about how to deal with all different kinds of relationships.
“The program is for everyone,” Carling said. “It is for people wanting a relationship, those who are already in one, and even those trying to get out of one.”
She said there will be pamphlets available in the TSC and at The Junction Wednesday night with information on good dating and relationship ideas.
The week was initially started in response to the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior which states, “To enjoy the benefits of sexuality, while avoiding negative consequences … it is necessary for individuals to be sexually healthy, to behave responsibly, and to have a supportive environment – to protect their own sexual health, as well as that of others.”
Jaylyn Merrill, a graduate student in community health education, is the health educator team leader for the Student Wellness Center. The health educator team consists of volunteer students who care about health and help organize the week’s events at USU.
“Health is a funny thing,” Merrill said. “Some people are very willing to talk about it and others don’t. We hope these activities give a different avenue to help educate students.”
Merrill said they want everyone to know there are resources on campus to assist with health and education.
“We are all in some kind of relationship. A lot of times there are things we can do to improve them, and not just with our partners,” she said.
Whether in dating or elsewhere, relationships of all kinds play a large role in a person’s health.
“Relationships are a big part of health and most people don’t see that,” Merrill said. “We just want to correct that myth.”