Free condoms will be handed out all week
As Valentine’s Day approaches, chocolate, flowers, love and condoms are in the air as students are gearing up to celebrate National Condom Week.
National Condom Week, which started at the University of California at Berkeley and is now celebrated nationwide, is celebrated each year during Valentine’s Day week.
Student Coordinator and HIV Tester Peter Vielehr of the Community Health Education Program said National Condom Week focuses around Valentine’s Day because it is a good time to connect safety and consent with the popular holiday.
“We will hand out a couple thousand condoms at the UMC this week,” Vielehr said.
The program has created “condom origami” for this special week by folding paper into hearts that hold a condom perfectly. The “condom origami” will be passed out at the Alferd Packer Grill on Valentine’s Day.
Molly Levitt, a sophomore integrative physiology major, said she is not into the condom hype.
“I don’t have any problem with premarital sex, but I don’t need people jamming condoms in my hand during the middle of my day,” Levitt said.
The climax of National Condom Week will be the “Share the Love” educational event at the UMC on Valentine’s Day. Community Health Education Program Student Coordinator Bela Mohapatra said the goal of the event is to celebrate yourself and healthy relationships.
“There will be snacks, cookie decorating and photo shoots with neat costume props,” Mohapatra said. “This event is meant for having fun promoting safe sex- being positive about sex is not about forcing anything.”
“Condom Zaps” will also be occurring around campus and town. Sexual Health Education Program volunteers will be passing out condoms all over campus in addition to the Pearl Street bars.
“The Boulder County Project donates condoms to us every year so we routinely pass them out,” Vielehr said. “We refer to the distribution process as zapping.”
National Condom Week uses humor to promote safe sex with condoms. Some notable slogans include “Don’t be silly, protect your Willy,” “It will be sweeter if you wrap your Peter” and “No glove, No love!”
Amy Tautges, a junior Spanish major, said she thinks the condom humor is ironic.
“It’s interesting that safe sex is such a serious topic, but when brought up in conversation, it’s regarded as a joke,” Tautges said. “Nonetheless, condoms have been pretty satisfactory for me- they have been 100 percent effective thus far.”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Heather Koski at heather.koski@colorado.edu.
