On Monday, a presentation and demonstration on how to properly wear different types of condoms took place during the “Lets Taco-Bout Sex” discussion in the Casa Bella Clubhouse on the Brownsville campus.
More than 25 students attended the event on sex education, which centered on STD symptoms and prevention tips, health resources available at UTRGV. Attendees received free condoms and tacos.
Glenda Loza, a resident assistant for Casa Bella Apartments, organized the event for Housing and Residence Life to provide educational resources for students.
“I think our population, our 20-year-old population is in the time where they are having sex,” Loza said. “So, I think it’s important to go ahead and teach them about using condoms, using contraceptives so we don’t spread any sexual diseases.”
Presenter Daphne Alcala Zuñiga, a peer educator for UTRGV Health Services, provided the attendees with statistics on the consequences of unprotected sex and other encounters.
“They [students] should know that there is a risk of not being protected via the STDs, via pregnancies, like, it can have a very hard impact in their development in school,” Zuñiga said.
She said the audience was mature during the presentation.
“I actually really liked this crowd because they were actively participating and they were really nice and chill about it,” Zuñiga said. “They weren’t making jokes, like, maybe they were thinking [about] jokes … but it’s fine. Sometimes, it is their way of, I guess, releasing a little bit of the nervousness of this topic.”
She said Health Services also offers presentations on healthy relationships, nutrition, women’s wellness and other health-related topics that are not often talked about.
Jose Rodriguez, a peer educator for UTRGV Health Services, showed students the types of condoms that they can get for free at their office and the services they offer.
Rodriguez added HIV testing is now $25. Other tests are available for an additional price.
Art education junior Isamar Ibarra said sex education is limited to certain populations but it’s still important.
“Safe-sex education is not available to everyone in the public schools here in Texas,” Ibarra said. “So, everyone comes from different backgrounds with, like, different information and it’s kind of sad that they have to wait until they are in an environment, such as here in the university, where they are receiving this information, barely learning about all these things.”
Zuñiga said, “We need to know that one moment, literally five minutes of unprotected sex, can change your whole life. It could be something curable like chlamydia or it could be something as life-changing as HIV.”
Kinesiology freshman Eduardo Garcia (left) and Miguel Mejias, a biomedical sciences sophomore, eat tacos Monday during the “Let’s Taco-Bout Sex” event at the Casa Bella Clubhouse on the Brownsville campus.
