I decided to link my participation in the Great American Condom Campaign with my Acapella group's big Fall show. I am a member of the female Acapella group at Indiana University, Ladies First, and we have started a new (and awesome) tradition of linking our big shows with a cause and this semester that cause was safe sex! We thought it to be a good one in the fairly conservative state of Indiana. I know from my time at Advocates for Youth that a majority of my peers have not received accurate or complete sexuality education unless they got it from their parents so I thought this might be a great opportunity to engage my peers and teach them a few things that they probably never learned simply because they never had the opportunity to do so.

The condoms arrived a bit late and so I was a little panicked but then they arrived two days before the big show and we kicked the campaign into high gear! Several other girls and I took shifts at our student Union promoting the show but also talking to anyone who would listen about safe sex and proper condom use, handing out condom fact sheets and condoms to as many people as we could.

My favorite part of handing out the condoms at the Union was when my Macroeconomics professor, a younger graduate student, walked by. I announced that our show was coming up in my econ class and he said he was interested in buying a ticket. After trying to convince him to come to the show, I couldn't simpy ignore the pile of condoms in front of me on the table so I said "sooo I know this is sort of awkard since you're my econ professor and all but we're also doing a safe sex campaign and...you can have as many free condoms as you want!" He gave me sort of a crazy look when I informed him that I would be bringing condoms to class the next day to distribute. He didn't take any condoms and just sort of laughed but he did end up coming to the show!

We went through nearly all 500 condoms in just two days at the Union and set out more at our big show. I gave a little bit of background about the campaign during our show and spoke to a crowd of over 300 (including some parents but mostly students) about the importance of safe sex and proper and consistent condom use. I thought the students might be shy about taking condoms but I got a text during the intermission that we needed more condoms!! So I ran out and put out the rest! It was so much fun to be involved in the campaign. I got to educate the girls who I am close to in my Acapella group, many students at the Union and even my econ professor about safe sex! It was a blast and I would do it again tomorrow! yeah GACC!!!