Free condoms and services offered at Wellness Center
A. L. Kadaj
Issue date: 9/21/09 Section: Services
The Wellness Center offers a number of different services around campus including free condoms and earplugs, to sponsoring events that focus on environmental, sexual, social and intellectual safety.
Wondering what you just paid for in those fees added to your tuition? Part of it goes to support the accomplishments of that office behind the food court in Student Center East you visited during orientation-the Wellness Center (Room 238).
What started as a grassroots student movement pressuring the administration to create and support a resource for student, faculty and staff health concerns, resulted in one of UIC's most valuable service offices.
To prove how useful this social support and information network hub is, consider this: last year, over 27,000 free condoms were picked up by visitors to the front desk! The Wellness Center also offers free ear plugs to minimize stress related to noisy study environments, toothbrushes, sunscreen, stress reliever balls and smoking-cessation kits, as well as educational literature on a wide range of topics, from safe sex to drug prevention, alcohol safety guidelines, diet health, and emotional support advocacy groups serving the campus. Having difficulty juggling your time commitments to your studies, career and family? Problems with a roommate or a relationship? Students can walk-in or make an appointment for individual consultation with Wellness Center staff members.
The span of The Wellness Center co-sponsors events that focus on environmental, sexual, social, and intellectual safety with units such as The Office of Sustainability, Office of Women's Affairs, Campus Advocacy Network (CAN), CHANCE Learning Center, Student and Parent Orientation and Gads Hill Community Center.
It also observes health outreach events such as De-Stress Days, the Great American Smoke-Out, National College Alcohol Awareness Week, Rapid HIV Testing and a new walking challenge. It also hosts educational workshops and lectures around campus, many of which are open to the public. Each Wednesday, health topics such as breast and testicular cancer awareness and self-testing, blood donation and tobacco cessation, are highlighted at peer education booths during lunch hours. Students may also check out health and personal growth information media with a valid I-card.
Finally, The Wellness Center conducts crucial health surveys to assess the performance of its Alcohol and Other Drug Programs, as well as to gather health data anonymously from survey participants. These are useful for formulating observations and statistics, painting a more realistic picture of campus behaviors.
While the Wellness Center does its best to meet our changing campus' wellness needs, it can also refer students to other service providers like Campus Care, UIC Police, Department of Family Medicine, Office of Immunization Records, the Counseling Center and Planned Parenthood, and point toward local community non-profit organizations such as Rainbow House, and Pilsen's 'Crossroads' HIV-prevention program.
To learn more, please visit http://www.uic.edu/depts/wellctr/
Wondering what you just paid for in those fees added to your tuition? Part of it goes to support the accomplishments of that office behind the food court in Student Center East you visited during orientation-the Wellness Center (Room 238).
What started as a grassroots student movement pressuring the administration to create and support a resource for student, faculty and staff health concerns, resulted in one of UIC's most valuable service offices.
To prove how useful this social support and information network hub is, consider this: last year, over 27,000 free condoms were picked up by visitors to the front desk! The Wellness Center also offers free ear plugs to minimize stress related to noisy study environments, toothbrushes, sunscreen, stress reliever balls and smoking-cessation kits, as well as educational literature on a wide range of topics, from safe sex to drug prevention, alcohol safety guidelines, diet health, and emotional support advocacy groups serving the campus. Having difficulty juggling your time commitments to your studies, career and family? Problems with a roommate or a relationship? Students can walk-in or make an appointment for individual consultation with Wellness Center staff members.
The span of The Wellness Center co-sponsors events that focus on environmental, sexual, social, and intellectual safety with units such as The Office of Sustainability, Office of Women's Affairs, Campus Advocacy Network (CAN), CHANCE Learning Center, Student and Parent Orientation and Gads Hill Community Center.
It also observes health outreach events such as De-Stress Days, the Great American Smoke-Out, National College Alcohol Awareness Week, Rapid HIV Testing and a new walking challenge. It also hosts educational workshops and lectures around campus, many of which are open to the public. Each Wednesday, health topics such as breast and testicular cancer awareness and self-testing, blood donation and tobacco cessation, are highlighted at peer education booths during lunch hours. Students may also check out health and personal growth information media with a valid I-card.
Finally, The Wellness Center conducts crucial health surveys to assess the performance of its Alcohol and Other Drug Programs, as well as to gather health data anonymously from survey participants. These are useful for formulating observations and statistics, painting a more realistic picture of campus behaviors.
While the Wellness Center does its best to meet our changing campus' wellness needs, it can also refer students to other service providers like Campus Care, UIC Police, Department of Family Medicine, Office of Immunization Records, the Counseling Center and Planned Parenthood, and point toward local community non-profit organizations such as Rainbow House, and Pilsen's 'Crossroads' HIV-prevention program.
To learn more, please visit http://www.uic.edu/depts/wellctr/
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