College Tour 2004 hits IU

On Thursday, a national tour rolled into town. However, instead of a rock band or skateboard stunts, this tour featured free health care samples and advice to students.\nCollege Tour 2004, organized by Universal Consulting Group, is a 10-month RV tour traveling to college campuses and setting up kiosks that feature Johnson & Johnson products. \nIU is just one of 90 stops on the tour. Radford University graduate Shane King travels with the tour as a representative.\n"The tour promotes Acuvue, Clean&Clear and o.b." King said. "We want to get our samples out to the students so they can see what the products are."\nFrom 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., College Tour operated several blue tents in Dunn Meadow for students to visit. An RV painted with the tour's logo parked next to the tents and provided stereo speakers that played radio music for people visiting the tents.\nOne tent featured Acuvue color contact lenses. Students sat down in front of mirrors and sheets detailing color lens options. After picking a color they wanted to see, the optometrists and technicians on hand helped the students put in the contacts. \nOptometry student Kevin Cassar explained that the contacts available for sampling were strictly for color purposes and did not have any corrective power.\n"Contacts are a medical device, and students need to know how to properly care for them," Cassar said. "But they can still get experience with different colors and add fun to their contact lens usage."\nThe students were not allowed to keep their sample contacts, but got flyers detailing what optometrists they could visit to purchase colored lenses. Graduate student Katie Wall does not normally wear contacts but visited the station to see how her eyes would look in a different shade.\n"I tried on a color enhancer to make my eyes greener," Wall said. "I liked them. I'd definitely consider buying color contacts for something different."\nThe feminine hygiene company o.b. sponsored another station that offered a wide range of services, from astrology advice to free tampons. \nJunior Carrye Troyer got a free personality test from Katya Stefan, a Georgetown University graduate who is a marketing representative with the College Tour. Stefan asked Troyer questions about herself, including whether she was creative or logical and how well she focuses. Based on her answers, Stefan told Troyer which personality type she fit on an Enneagram Wheel, a type of personality chart.\n"They typed me as an outgoing person," Troyer said. "I thought it was pretty accurate."\n-- Contact staff writer Jorie Slodki at jslodki@indiana.edu .