“Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n Roll” to promote awareness

Live music, quasi-beer pong, drunk-goggle golf cart racing and the chance to toss a pie at Dean of Students Dick McKaig’s face: Sound like some kind of awesomely bizarre carnival? It kind of is, but the official name is “Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n Roll,” and it’s happening from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday in Dunn Meadow.

The event, in its first year, is hosted by Counseling and Psychological Services as a way to educate students about drugs, alcohol and sex.

“The goal of the event is to give students information, tools and awareness to engage in responsible behavior around alcohol and sex,” said Debbie Melloan, event co-organizer. “But we want to give it to them in a way that’s interesting and fun.”

Behind these “interesting and fun” activities are 14 organizations, that will be represented with booths at the fair. Each one will host a different game or activity.

“In planning the event, we really emphasized having the booths be interactive,” Melloan said.

Highlights include a “Wheel of Fortune”-style trivia game aimed at endorsing the theme of consent, drunk-goggle golf cart driving to simulate being pulled over by the IU Police Department, beer pong trivia about blackouts, four live bands and, of course, throwing pies at McKaig’s face as a reward for visiting 10 of the 14 booths.

Chris Meno, event co-organizer, said she feels this event is a crucial step to ensuring the safety of students during the school year.

“I think it’s important at the beginning of the semester for students to think about the consequences of their actions,” Meno said.

Student volunteer Jessica Schul also sees the event as an opportunity for students to get behind these organizations and their members.

“It shows support, not only for educational programming, but also for the actual faculty members and student groups participating,” Schul said.

Whether or not students respond to this educational opportunity remains to be seen, but Melloan hopes that simply hosting “Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n Roll” will convey something important to everyone at IU.

“I hope this event sends the message that there’s a whole lot of people on this campus that care about the well-being of students,” Melloan said.