Valentine’s Day is a nationally recognized event for people to show and tell their special someone how much they mean to them.

Usually, people are selling roses, balloons, and chocolates. However, the CSUS Health Center celebrated lover’s day by giving out free condoms for National Condom Week.

National Condom Week is an important public health program to share information on condom use with the public and to educate and prevent unwanted sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), AIDS, and unwanted pregnancies.

“It is a good day to do some outreach” says Nicole Romero, student assistant at Sac State’s Health Center. “I think the students were very responsive and it helped promote prevention of diseases.”

The National Condom Day booth, designed by the Health Education Department, provided lots of free brochures with packets of condoms and flavored lubricants. The flavors of the lubricants ranged from strawberry kiwi to sweet pineapple. Students also had the opportunity to fill out a form and guess how many condoms were in one jar and how many flavored lubes were contained in the other jar.

By guessing correctly, the winner gets one of two musical valentine bears.

The booth was held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the library’s breezeway.

The celebration of NCW reminds people to “love responsibly” by not just protecting themselves yet protecting their partners as well. There is an estimated 15.3 million cases of STDs diagnosed every year in the United States. Many people with a STD are not aware that they may carry a disease.

Condoms can be a sure way to prevent spreading diseases that people don’t even know that they can be carrying. Condoms are safe, effective, and reduce transmission of STDs due to proper use of the condom.

In efforts of educating Sac State students, the NCW was sponsored by CSUS Student Health Center, Health Education Department, and Chlamydia Screen Education Testing Project . The Health Center programs provide health information and aid as a resource center for health education needs. The CSET Project test students for chlamydia and provide free treatment.

Valentine’s day is not just a day to shower a special someone with roses, chocolates, and love. It’s a day to have the knowledge to “love responsibly.” For more information on National Condom Week, call the Student Health Center at 278-5422.