Program Possibilities: Sex and Candy

Submitted by Kyle Tade and Jessica Gabbert, Resident Assistants, Elmhurst College

This program was amazing! We called our program "Sex and Candy". We advertised by making door decorations. For the decorations we taped cut outs of lips and a condom to a piece of paper with the program name, date, and time. Our residents were really intrigued by this and kept asking what the program was. To build up suspense, we wouldn't tell them anything!

We started our program with an activity called "Protect your Balls". We had our group count off by three's and gave all of the number one's a ping-pong ball. The ball represented whatever meant the most to them. We then instructed number's 2 and 3 that they wanted the balls and could get them by whatever means necessary (without violence). At the end we had discussions about how it felt to have something taken from you; how it felt to have someone you know pressure you, etc. We also spoke of how the attackers picked out who they would attack, what strategy did they use, and why they chose to (or not to) attack the people that they did.

Our next activity was called "Heads Up, Drugged Up". This game is a fun variation on an old favorite (Heads Up, 7 Up). Depending on the size of the group, count off by numbers. Take 1/4 or 1/3 of the participants into a separate room and explain the rules while the other part of the group is asked to put their heads down (eyes closed) and place their hands out, palms up. The smaller part of the group is given three types of candy, each signifying something different.

The first type of candy represented a roofie. The second type of candy represented a failed attempt at drugging the individual. The third type of candy represented an extreme amount of alcohol.

After each member of the smaller group has given their candy out, we asked everyone to raise their heads. We had the small group stand at the front of the room and asked the “candied” individuals to identify their attacker.

Conversations can stem from the identifications. Such as, you may or may not know who your attacker was; ways in which to prevent sexual assault; common misconceptions about the motivations for sexual assault.

At the end of the program don’t forget to give everyone a piece of candy!