Fall wellness fair promotes awareness

Safe sex, alcohol awareness, breast cancer, vision, AIDs, STDs, and other health concerns were promoted Wednesday as part of the annual Wellness Fair in the Smith-Brown Memorial Union.
Numerous students participated in different activities and received goodies as well as valuable information from each of the different stations that were participating in this fair. Also there were chances for the students to participate in either giving blood, getting tested, and getting valuable information involving the importance of their health.
The companies who are all in the attendance of the health fair were those such as Wal-Mart, Louisiana Center for Health Center, Southern Counseling Center, Lifeshares blood center, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. Also some of the Southern University Schools of nursing students were out in attendance helping and assisting the different sites of the fair.
“Have your vision checked,” said Brian Zeno, a worker from Wal-Mart in Zachary, La. He sends a message out to the students, saying, “With the high STD rate at Southern University campus, one thing that it will affect is your vision. When the doctor gives you a thorough eye exam, he is actually seeing if there is something wrong with your eyes as well as see what’s wrong with your health.” Wal-Mart hosted their station with the vision center, helping students check their eye vision.
Jacqueline Farlely, a Southern University nursing student, who was at work with the Student Health center, had some words to say about staying healthy.
“Have your regular yearly check-ups, have a well balanced diet, and to seek as much information as possible on maintaining a complete comprehensive and thorough health,” she said.
The Alcohol awareness station worked with students, giving them a taste of how it felt for drunk drivers when they have to undergo field sobriety tests whenever the police stop them.
The Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center had their station set up outside of the union, giving out free breast cancer test as well as educates those who may have breast cancer history or know of those who have experienced breast cancer. They also informed males as well that they also have a possible chance of having breast cancer just as much as women can encounter it.
There was a good turnout of student as well as parents and their children in attendance. It seemed everybody in attendance enjoyed this fun, yet educating fair that put those in game about the certain understandings of staying healthy.