New Game Inspired by Education on Safe Sex

Jessica Shawcroft
The Paw Print

Sex, it’s something we’ve all heard of (I hope), and something a lot of us have already participated in. Our day in society, sex is all around us! We see it on television, we see it on our computers, and we hear about it in our classes, and some of us probably even go home to our room and find a sock on the door. Another thing we hear a lot about is safe sex.
The move to learn about safe sex and become educated is all around us! We have television shows, showing us what it’s like to be pregnant young and a young mom. We have ads on television and the internet about our options, billboards placed for unwanted pregnancy clinics, and the information we see all around us on campus about safe sex. Well this is different, and it definitely caught my eye!
What do you think about something someone promotes but they use a fun and interesting way to get a person’s attention? I think it’s pretty cool. We have a new game on campus; it’s called the “Gnome Game.”
The game is sponsored by beforeplay.org which is the hub for a Colorado statewide effort to reduce unintended pregnancy and help “normalize” conversations around sexual health and well-being. About 50% of Colorado pregnancies are unintended, and the ratio is even higher among young adults in their twenties, that means us!
I hadn’t ever heard of this until now, but I think it’s a great way to get people’s attention and raise awareness of the options we all have.
The rules to the game go as followed:
Find and take a picture of the gnome on your campus. There are two different ways to be entered in the contest:
Share your picture via instigram or twitter using the hashtag #B4PlayGnome
Submit your Gnome pictures through Beforeplay.org’s Facebook’s page.
You can enter to win once a day.
There are weekly prizes of one $50 Visa Gift Card per campus
Everyone who enters is eligible to win the Grand Prize of an Ipad Mini!
What do you think? Interested? I know I am.
I checked out the website as well, it’s full of important information on everyone’s options if an unplanned pregnancy is thrown into the mix of things, STD’s, sexuality, and birth control. For a lot of us, this is our first experience away from home and we may have been sheltered from the variety of the world. Birth control is available to us but if you’re not into a pill, shot, or patch; the website offers other options as well.
If we are unsure of how to talk with our partner about sex and how it might change our relationship, the website offers help on that, too.
STD’s can be something no one wants to think or talk about, if you think you have an STD or want to be better safe than sorry, check the website out.
I am interested to see if the Gnome takes off! In today’s world, we have so much information at our fingertips! Check out the website, find the Gnome and win that gift card!