The Center for Wellness and Health Promotion will promote safesex during Valentine’s Day week for its third annual SexualResponsibility Week.

The WELL will host a speed-dating event and a lecture by a”sexpert,” hand out fliers with safe sex information, distributecondoms, and offer extended hours of free HIV testing during theweek.

The program is part of a national Sexual Responsibility Weekcampaign run by the Bacchus Network, an organization that promoteshealth and wellness on college campuses across the country.

Shannon Lindsay, a graduate assistant in the WELL, said thatincreasing students’ knowledge about healthy sexual behavior is themain focus of the week.

“Mostly, at the end of the day, it’s empowerment,” Lindsay said.”We want people to have the right information.”

To supply students with information, volunteers from the WELLwill set up tables around campus and hand out free Mardi Gras beadswith condoms attached, as well as fliers with information oncontraception, sexually transmitted infection awareness andtesting, and tips for healthy emotional and sexualrelationships.

Junior AnnaJane Parrill, who volunteers as a peer healtheducator in the WELL, said that sexual health is just one of manytopics about which the WELL aims to educate students. Other topicsinclude mental health and drug, tobacco and alcohol use. She saidsexual health is usually one of the most interesting health topicsfor college students.

“This is always one of our most successful health topics to shareawareness about,” Parrill said.

Junior Jennifer Litner, a peer health educator, said that SexualResponsibility Week aims to encourage students to feel morecomfortable discussing sex.

“It used to be more taboo,” Litner said. “We shouldn’t feelnervous or uncomfortable or ashamed about talking [about sex].”

The WELL will hold speed dating for the LGBTQ community and itsallies from 10 p.m. to midnight Monday in the Kendall CramBallroom. The next day, the WELL will host a lecture by sexualexpert Logan Levkoff from 6:30 – 8 p.m. in the Qatar Ballroom.