RHA hosts safe sex bingo with $200 grand prize
By Julia Train
If you offer Rider students free condoms, candy and cookies, then they’ll form a line that wraps around the outside of Daly’s Dining Hall.
Over 100 students showed up for Safe Sex Bingo, hosted by the Residence Hall Association (RHA) on Feb. 13.
The Mercer Room had 17 tables that each had seven seats, and every one was filled.
“There might be an issue. There’s a line all the way outside of Daly’s,” a member of RHA said to the organization’s president, Megan Grimshaw, a senior psychology major. “We might have to start turning people down.”
Grimshaw quickly solved the problem. She grabbed the microphone and told everyone to sit down, even if they didn’t know anyone, so that her executive board members could see how many seats were left.
As students filled each seat and found their friends, they noticed the candy, condoms and safe sex pamphlets, which were provided by the health center, in the center of each table. Some put them in their bags, while others decided to blow up the condoms like balloons.
At the front of the room, there were 25 prizes on a table.
“This is one of our first big successes. We were focusing on having our big events in the spring. We were totally not expecting this many people, but [I’m] glad it happened,” said Grimshaw.
RHA saved most of their budget from the fall to use this semester, according to Grimshaw.
The prizes and refreshments – Insomnia cookies, water and soda – were all purchased using the budget money.
Sex toys for all genders, including condom packs, penis squishmallows as well as gift cards were available to be chosen.
After about 15 minutes of getting everyone settled, Grimshaw welcomed the players with a fun fact about safe sex.
“Avoid drinking alcohol or using drugs as this increases the chance that you will participate in high-risk sex,” she said.
Grimshaw then explained that the first few rounds were normal Bingo, but as the prizes got bigger, the patterns needed to win became harder.
She then started the first round and announced the spaces on the players’ Bingo boards.
At 8:22 p.m., the first winner chose handcuffs. She held them up proudly as she bounced back to her seat.
The prizes were split up in three categories, from smaller to larger prizes, following the difficulty of the design needed.
The three gift cards brought more competitive sides of people as they waited for the letter and number spaces they needed. There was a $50 gift card for Amazon and a $100 and $200 VISA gift card.
The final round’s pattern was to fill the entire Bingo board. Grimshaw announced each space in a “rapid fire” style.
After almost two hours, the final prize, the $200 VISA gift card, was given away to Yomi Lathon, a senior music production major.
“I don’t usually play Bingo, unless it’s this type.” Lathon said. “God is good and I like money.”
They plan to use the gift card to buy clothes.
Editor Tristan E. M. Leach is a member of RHA and did not have any part in the writing or editing of this piece.
