The Winona State University Health and Wellness services hosted a sexual health fair on Oct. 13, 2025, to provide information and resources to students. From destigmatizing to engaging in sex in a safe way, Health and Wellness services is working to help students.
Lexie Green, the Health and Wellness Coordinator, helped promote this clinic and provides education, programming and classes for students on various aspects of wellness. “We recognize that sexual health topics may be intimidating for people to discuss, so we aim to normalize seeking education and resources to make informed, healthy decisions,” Green said
While attendance at this fair seems to be decreasing over the years, Green notes that it is still an important event and resource on campus. “We always get the feedback from attendees that they get good information that they’re grateful to have access to [the sexual health fair],” Green said. According to Green, many students do not receive a comprehensive health education in high school and sometimes can feel lost or confused in college in terms of how to go about sexual health. This fair aimed to educate students who may have felt under-educated or desired to learn more.
Amy Nelson, a graduate assistant in the Health and Wellness center for graphic design and communication, also helped put this event on. “The purpose of the sexual health fair is to do just that – to promote sexual health. It’s a way for students to learn about sexual health in an engaging way. Students can walk through a non-judgmental zone and ask questions from experts,” Nelson said.
“Sexual health is often stigmatized, and our hopes are that the more we talk about it and normalize it – that there will be less stigmas and people will feel more comfortable when seeking reproductive health care,” Nelson said. She also notes that Halloween and Homecoming weekends are coming up, which are times of big risk for students as there is increased binge-drinking and potential hook-ups. These factors can sometimes increase the risk of sexual assault occurring, and Nelson stresses the importance of staying safe and speaking up if something happens.
“We intentionally plan out the sexual health fair to be before these weekends so it can give us an opportunity to pair promotion with prevention – they go hand in hand for keeping our community safe,” Nelson notes. “It’s important to always ask—yes means yes, and no means no.”
While promoting sexual health is part of college life, so is spreading awareness on preventing sexual assault from happening. While it can feel hard and scary to speak up and get help if you have been sexually assaulted, it is important to advocate for yourself and seek help. The Health and Wellness center can connect any students who have experienced sexual assault with the resources they need.
