Condoms, lube and kinky rope filled the Tri-Towers Rotunda Friday as Sextoberfest guided Kent State students on a journey of games through the world of sex.

Sextoberfest is an event put on by the Kent Interhall Council at the end of each Sex Week to celebrate safe sex with games and prizes. Games like “Risky Business,” “Mystery Lube Flavor Taste Test” and crowd favorite “Dick Jousting” used fun, educational ways to teach students about safe sex.

Tim Davis, a sophomore visual communication design major, attended Sextoberfest to gain new information and have fun.

“My favorite game of the night was ‘Dick Jousting,’” Davis said. “There are a lot of adolescents who don’t understand what sex does to a person. It has emotional and mental side effects. So it’s really good to have this event here at Kent just so people know about it more.”

“Dick Jousting” featured students on two individual bouncey balls with penis-shaped blow up swords in their hands, battling each other until the other fell off. The person who answered a sex-themed question correctly had a shield for protection, while the other was left with a disadvantage.

Neriah Alexander, a sophomore business management major, resident assistant adviser for KIC and volunteer, explained the importance of “Dick Jousting.”

“It is like with sex where you are at a disadvantage if you don’t wear protection,” Alexander said.

Students came to Sextoberfest to welcome open dialogue about sex. Sameera Bowles, a senior pan-African studies major, explained that it’s important for these talks to take place among her peers at Kent State.

“It is taboo to talk about it (sex) and people walk around campus and don’t know much about sex,” Bowles said. “I think it’s cool that they do it in way where it is not like your seventh grade sex ed class. It makes it fun.”

“Mystery Lube Flavor Taste Test” was another sex game featured at Sextoberfest.

Ivy McCombs, a freshman English major and Stopher-Johnson hall council representative, worked game. She said the activity holds importance for Sextoberfest.

“We have three different flavors of lube: peppermint, pina colada and vanilla,” McCombs said. “We have the participant blindly take a taste test, and if they guess right, they get a packet of flavored lube. It is a fun way to teach people about how lubrication is indeed important, especially for women who are having vaginal sex who can’t produce their own wetness. It is a fun way to get people involved.”

Sex Week and Sextoberfest also focused on raising awareness on sexual assault and ways to prevent it.

Students Against Sexual Assault, a student organization on campus, provided a table at the event with the mission to educate students on sexual assault. They gave students information on how to provide support to surviving sexual assault victims.

Elizabeth Schmidt, a senior international relations major and co-vice president of SASA, talked about why the organization is important to have for students on campus.  

“A lot of what we do is focused not just on telling people, ‘Of course sexual assault is bad,’ but actually changing the mindset that leads to sexual and power-based violence, which often involves unhealthy relationships,” Schmidt said. “The reason we promote consent so much is because it’s the difference between sex and sexual assault. If you have good communication and you respect the person you’re with, you’re not going to assault them.”

Emiliana Morales, a senior international relations major and director of business operations for KIC, said KIC presents this event each year to make a difference in how students view sex.

“At Kent State specifically, we strive to be the cutting-edge students,” Morales said. “We want to be the best in the nation. By putting on Sex Week, we show everyone that we are here to be inclusive, we are here to be inviting and we are here to actually teach students something that they need to know on practical levels.”

Devon Parker is the the north regional campuses and graduate education reporter. Contact him at [email protected].