Miami Herald - November 20, 2005
Jenny Jacobs, Herald Writer

In some ways, it was your typical carnival -- music, dancing, games, and cotton candy. But there were twists -- condoms, lubricant, and penis replicas everywhere.

University of Miami students do know how to throw a party -- and one with a message. Wednesday's sex carnival, sponsored by the student group A Week for Life, was just one event last week through which the group promoted HIV/AIDS education and awareness. Other events included an AIDS vigil, a fundraising evening, and an educational forum.

At the sex carnival, "people are still receiving education about a very serious disease, while having fun," said junior Christele Francois, the carnival chairwoman. The underlying message -- responsibility, safety, and awareness -- was not sacrificed.

"When we first learned about HIV/AIDS, it was regarded as a gay disease having a white face. Today, one need only to look at the continent of Africa to see that that face is changing," said UM senior and poet Nathalie Guillaume.

Lured by music and fried chicken, students flocked to the main campus patio. There they found plenty of health specialists and student volunteers, armed with different forms of protection -- physical and educational.

Jeleine Fertil, from Jackson Heath System's South Florida AIDS Network, passed out informational brochures about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. She also answered questions and provided information on where testing is done for free.

According to Fertil, most students asked about the different types of condoms and how HIV and other STDs are transmitted.

"There are so many different types of condoms . . . we just want them to use the condoms," Fertil said.

Empower "U" Inc., a local service organization for people with AIDS, hosted a booth to promote the free 20-minute rapid AIDS test and hand out free lubricants, as well as male and female condoms.

While many students were glad to have the giveaways, many also believed the results of the sex carnival would be both seen and unseen -- value gained by changing their peers' perceptions and actions for the better.

"People assume that they know everything but once they come out here, it clears up some misconceptions they might have," student volunteer Tianna Williams said in front of the "kissing booth" -- where chocolate candy kisses were being handed out.

'For example, I've heard someone say, 'She doesn't look like she has AIDS or neither does he,' " continued senior Michaelle Pierrette.

"Too many girls are also sleeping around and they put a lot of trust into what the guy should know -- they don't really ask questions," said UM junior Samantha Brown in front of the "condom race" where participants raced to put condoms over penis replicas.

Most of the carnival-goers, as Brown pointed out, were women.

"A college campus is an important place to promote safe sex and responsible sex because it's a common place for casual sex to occur; this shows there are consequences," said senior Lindsay Murdock in front of the "penis toss" booth where students threw rings around penis replicas and received free condoms for each successful throw.

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