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Photo Credit: World AIDS Logo Used Here with Permission |
Sex Po and World AIDS Day
This year marks the seventh anniversary of Sex Po, the sexual health fair hosted annually by the Office of Health Education that encourages sexual health and responsibility in the Vassar community. On December 5, health groups and services from on and off campus will staff tables in the College Center with information about their organizations and supplementary educational materials.
“Sexual Superheroes” is the theme of this year’s fair, which is intended to “encourage students to take control of their sexuality, whatever that may mean to them,” said Director of Health Education Michelle Soucy. The theme relates to the “Save the Freshmen, Save the World” mantra thought up by the Office of Residential Life at the beginning of the year for incoming freshmen.
Numerous campus organizations, including CHOICE (Campus Health Organization for Information, Contraception, and Education), the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, CARES (Counseling and Assistance in Response to Rape and Exploitive Sexual Activity), the Queer Coalition of Vassar College (QCVC), and the Women’s Health Center at Baldwin will be present.
Off-campus services and programs are invited to participate as well. Among those represented are the Battered Women’s Services, Planned Parenthood of the Mid-Hudson Valley, the Dutchess County Department of Health, and the Rape Crisis Center.
“[Sex Po] is a unique opportunity for Vassar students to have all the campus sexual health resources available at one time in one place to help encourage and promote informed decisions and accurate information,” said CHOICE President Jinà Ashline ’08.
Every year, Sex Po takes place around World AIDS Week. “It’s timed to make students think about and be aware of safe sex and discuss preventative measures,” said Soucy.
On November 28, student organizations rang a bell every 11 seconds to recognize the 2.9 million people who died from AIDS in 2006—approximately one person every 11 seconds. In recognition of World AIDS Day on December 1, QCVC and Blegen House will host an auction and reception in the Villard Room in support of AIDS awareness.
A plaque that permanently hangs in the Villard Room displays the names of alumnae/i who have died from AIDS.