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Representatives from UNM's Student Health and Counseling answer questions and give students paletas during SHAC’s condom-mint event celebrating the program's 7th anniversary on April 26, 2018.

Representatives from UNM's Student Health and Counseling answer questions and give students paletas during SHAC’s condom-mint event celebrating the program's 7th anniversary on April 26, 2018.

SHAC celebrates 7th anniversary of condom-mints

Student Health and Counseling celebrated their condom-mint program’s 7th anniversary by providing paletas, condoms, mints and safe sex pamphlets to University students on April 26.

The event, held in the Student Union Building Mall, was in collaboration with representatives from the University of New Mexico Truman Health Services, the UNM LGBTQ Resource Center and the LoboRESPECT Advocacy Center.

Red, orange, green and grey booths lined up side-by-side and representatives informed students waiting for paletas about treatment, consent and student resources.

Pop Fizz, a local business, offered frozen treats made from fruit, sugar, and milk or water — also known as paletas — to students passing by on the condition that students follow the student health group on social media or correctly answer questions from a SHAC handout.

Tiffany Martinez-Durant, the health promotion and marketing communications manager for SHAC, said when students share the organization on social media, it increases awareness of SHAC as a resource.

“I can no longer wait for students to come to me — I have to reach students where they’re at and if you look right now in Cornell Mall, everyone’s on their phone,” she said. “So how do we get to students? And that’s (through) social media.”

Martinez-Durant said that by following SHAC on social media platforms like Snapchat, students can engage with informative content about prevention and upcoming SHAC events.

The UNM Truman Health Services sported a grey table and helped inform students about HIV prevention, while providing students with safe sex kits containing condoms and information about safe sex and resource centers.

Matthew Brown, an intern for New Mexico Community AIDS Partnership, hosted the table for Truman Health Services. He said he hopes students walk away with a better grasp of sexual health and awareness.

“We’re trying to empower young people, because this demographic tends to contract HIV the most and spread STD’s the most,” he said. “So we’re offering condoms, safer sex kits, information about our testing hours to make it as easy (and) as accessible as possible for people to know their status and to empower them.”

Brown said it is important for students to educate themselves. The Truman Center has free walk-in appointments for HIV on Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and on Thursdays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

To the right of the SHAC tables were the LGBTQ and LoboRESPECT representatives. Both groups said they have the goal of normalizing conversations about sex and removing the taboos that come with it.

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Anna Sanchez, the program coordinator and a Grey Area trainer with LoboRESPECT, said safe sex is more than a concept that can damage your physical health.

“That condom-mint part of safe sex also comes with making sure we’re getting that enthusiastic ‘yes’ that comes with consent,” Sanchez said.

Zach Martinez, a freshman studying computer science, said the event was enjoyable, especially because of the free stuff. He said sexual education events like this not only raise awareness of some of the dangers associated with sex, like pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, but also promotes respect between students during sex.

Martinez added that he hopes this event leads students to being safe by keeping them “thinking with the right head.”

Anthony Jackson is a freelance reporter with the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @TonyAnjackson.

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