EXPOSING THE ELCA
  • Home
  • ELCA Exposed News
    • on The Bible
    • on Homosexuality & Sex
    • on Universalism & Hell
    • on Goddess/Mother God/Gender Neutral Lang.
    • on Israel
    • on Abortion
    • on Social Media (ELCA Wolves Blog)
    • on Radical Hospitality and Prophecy
    • on Transgenders and Drag Queens
    • on Social Justice
    • on Gospel Reductionism / Antinomianism
    • on Called to Common Mission
    • on Other Critical Issues
  • Responses to ELCA
    • The Bible vs. ELCA
    • Churches Respond
    • Pastors Respond
    • Exposed Quotes
    • People Respond
    • More Responses
    • ELCA Finances
    • Alternatives to the ELCA
  • Exposed Blog
  • Share
  • Support
  • More
    • About & Contact
    • Help and Advice on Leaving ELCA
    • Important Information
    • Church Produced Info
    • ELCA Vault
    • Readers' Comments
    • ELCA Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber
    • ELCA Colleges
    • ELCA Seminaries
    • Want to Know Jesus?
    • Exposing the ELCA Newsletters & Important Websites
    • Submit Tips

St. Olaf College and the "Condom Olympics"

3/23/2012

3 Comments

 
We really need to start a series called, “Are ELCA colleges Christian?”  I say that because it seems to me, more and more, worldly values and morals are taking precedent within ELCA colleges.

St. Olaf College is affiliated with the ELCA.  On St. Olaf's official website we learn of an event called the  “Wellness Olympics” and are told this, “Back by popular demand, the Wellness Center is hosting a team-based competition that tests students’ knowledge of sexual health, reproductive anatomy, and STI statistics. It all culminates in an intense relay race to properly put on a condom while wearing ‘beer goggles.’ Come and bring your friends!”  (see here)

On St. Olaf College Wellness Center’s Facebook page we are told of this event, but they call it “Condom Olympics!”  The Wellness Center apparently invited 399 Facebook members, who in all likelihood are St. Olaf College students with Facebook accounts, to this “Condom Olympics.”  Twenty seven people responded saying they were “Going” to the event and 32 people said they “maybe” going.  (see here)

St. Olaf’s Student Government Association’s website announced the event this way, “An interactive competition with the purpose of social norming and learning all about condoms. Ahhhhh yeeeah.” (see here - probably wont be on their webpage for long)

Here is one person’s rude comments about the event - http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/25173/

So lets get this straight, an event held at St. Olaf College teaches students how to put on condoms while intoxicated, which is what “beer goggles” are to simulate. 


People who support St. Olaf College need to know about this.
3 Comments
Mark Daniels link
3/23/2012 09:26:28 am

I'm in favor of providing people with information that might help them to avoid sinful and/or dangerous behaviors.

And I don't mind if such information is provided with an element of "fun."

But the "condom olympics" assume that young people will, as a right of passage, engage in sexual intimacy outside of marriage and, sex or not, get themselves blitzed.

Assuming these things is to say that human beings are hormonally-driven animals incapable of heeding the call of God over their lives and more seriously, assumes that God is incapable of hearing the prayers of believing Christians who pray, "Deliver us from temptation."

At a Christian college, while acknowledging the original sin that tempts us all, professors instructors, and administrators will instead teach that it's possible, through submission to Christ, to possess "self control," a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

But, of course, there's yet another assumption ELCA members should avoid: The one that says our ELCA colleges, universities, or even, seminaries, are Christian. Sadly, there's little evidence to support such assumptions.

Reply
Beth L.
5/31/2012 03:50:43 pm

Having just completed a year serving as Junior Counselor in a first year dorm at St. Olaf and being grateful for the Wellness Center's resources programming, I think its important to remind everyone what the St. Olaf Wellness Center actually does before condemning them.

Their mission statement can be found on their website: http://www.stolaf.edu/stulife/wellness/staff/

"The Wellness Center strives to educate and support a community that encourages healthy and safe behaviors through personal responsibility, positive social norms, academic engagement and a vibrant co-curricular life."

Their work is grounded in reality. For example, as a Lutheran school, we have a dry campus policy. As part of Residence Life, I can tell you firsthand that is not the reality. The dry campus policy often results in dangerous student drinking, behind doors. The medical amnesty policy was a great step towards keeping students safe, and so is the Wellness Center programming. They clearly do not promote alcohol use, but they embrace a "harm reduction" policy. Proven nationally effective, the Wellness Peer Educators approach is "A lot of students here don't drink, but if you are going to drink then here is how to be smart about it."

The Condom Olympics are in a similar vein. Yes, they are hilarious. But instead of being flippant, the levity serves to reel students in and teach some basic sexual health. I brought my corridor of first years to the Fall Olympics that were part of Homecoming. The competitions served to myth bust, provide information, and create an environment where we can talk about sexuality. Contradicting Mark Daniels' comment above, one of the statistics the Wellness Center presented was that only 51% of St. Olaf students have had sex during the last year, which is great for those of us not having sex to hear.

Furthermore, none of the Peer Educators "taught us how to put on condoms while intoxicated." In what I consider the most educational component of the event, the beer goggles and condoms relay demonstrated how impossible safe sex is when you're drinking. Beer goggles in general are a great way to realize how impaired alcohol actually makes you, since that's impossible to comprehend while under the influence.

The relay section went like this: The first contestant put on his/her goggles and ran to the condom bowl in the middle of the room. S/he had to find a good condom, meaning one that wasn't expired, already ripped, stapled, etc. (This part was SO DIFFICULT) Then you raced to the end and tried to put the condom on the woody properly. The Peer Educators made you start over if anything wasn't perfect... and none of us got it right on the first couple tries.

Their point was made. Having safe sex is essentially impossible under the influence of alcohol. In the conversation I had with my girls afterwards, most of the comments were about the last section of the relay and how they weren't going to hook up or let their friends hook up if they'd been drinking.

The "Do Not Drink" admonition clearly doesn't stop students from drinking. Refusing to talk about sexual health clearly doesn't stop students from having sex. Honest education keeps people safe and as a Christian, I think that is wonderful.

Reply
Larry-bob
5/20/2015 03:21:17 am

When I was a student at St. Olaf in the mid-1980s we had a pro-condoms-on-campus demonstration. Good to hear the situation has improved since then.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.  
    ​1 Thessalonians 5:21

    Dan Skogen

    Former ELCA seminary student and former ELCA member who is fed up with the ELCA's consistent mockery of God's Word.


    If you have been helped and blessed by Exposing the ELCA's ministry, please help us continue to proclaim the truth of God's Word to ELCA members who need to hear it.

    Give online
    by clicking the "donate" button below:

    Categories

    All
    2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly
    Abortion
    Adam And Eve
    Advocacy
    All Paths Lead To God
    Angels
    Anglican Church
    A Pastors Thoughts
    Astrology
    Bds
    Belief
    Berlin Wall
    BIPOC
    Bisexual
    Bishop
    Black-lives-matter
    Blasphemy
    Border Fence
    Camp
    Christian Nationalism
    Christmas
    Church Leaves Elca
    Church Plant
    Climate Change
    Columbus Day
    Communion
    Community Organizing
    COVID
    Covington-catholic
    Creation
    Cross Dressing
    Cursing
    Deaconness
    Decolonizelutheranism
    Divorce
    Drag
    Drag Queen
    Eappi
    Easter
    Elca
    ELCA Churchwide Assembly
    Elca College
    ELCA Conference Of Bishops
    Elca World Hunger
    Environmentalism
    Episcopal
    Equality Act
    Evil
    Evolution
    Exposing The Elca
    Feminism
    Feminist Theology
    Fracking
    Franklin Graham
    Fundamentalists
    Future
    Gay Bar
    Gay Marriage
    Gender
    Gender Neutral Language
    Gnosticism
    God
    Goddess Worship
    Gospel Of Affirmation
    Grace Luth Eau Claire
    Guns
    Heaven-on-earth
    Hell
    Herchurch
    Heresy
    Heterosexism
    Holy Spirit
    Homosexuality
    ICE
    Ilhan Omar
    Illegal Immigration
    Illustration
    Immigration
    Inclusion
    Inerrancy
    Interfaith
    Intersex
    Intolerant
    Israel
    Jesus
    John Dominic Crossan
    Jonah
    Judge Kavanaugh
    Lcmc
    Lent
    Letter
    Liberal Theology
    Liberation Theology
    Lift
    Living Lutheran
    Lutheran Church Of Hope
    Lutheran Core
    Lutheran Immigration And Refugee Sevice
    Lutheran Social Services
    LWF
    Mainline Protestant
    Mantra
    Marcus Borg
    Martin Luther
    Masterpiece Cake Shop
    Masturbation
    Media 1517
    Membership
    Methodist
    Mike Housholder
    Missionaries
    Money
    Mother God
    Naked And Unashamed
    Nakedness
    Nalc
    National Day Of Mourning
    Non-Binary
    Operation Christmas Child
    Other Religions
    Overpopulation
    Pam Rocker
    Pat Robertson
    PC(USA)
    Police
    Politics
    Polls
    Polyamorous Relationships
    Pornography
    Portico Benefit Services
    Prayer
    Premarital Sex
    Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton
    Presiding Bishop Herbert Chilstrom
    Pronouns
    Purity Rings
    Queer Eye
    Queer Theology
    Race
    Racism
    Rage
    Reform Elca
    Refugees
    Reiki
    Resurrection
    Rev Nadia Bolz Weber
    Right And Wrong
    Rob Bell
    Salvation
    Salvation Army
    Samaritan's Purse
    Sanctuary
    Satan
    Saul Alinsky
    Seminaries
    Sex
    Silencing Free Speech
    Silencing Pastors
    Sin
    Smudging
    Socialism
    Social Justice
    Spirit Guides
    Standing Rock
    Store
    Substitutionary Atonement
    Syncretism
    Synods
    Taxes
    Thanksgiving
    The Bible
    The Finger
    The Gospel
    The Lutheran
    The Tea Party
    Thrivent
    Tolerance
    Transgender
    Trump
    UCC
    Unitarian Universalist
    United Methodist Church
    United Nations
    United States Of America
    Unity
    Universalism
    Universal Salvation
    Vagina
    Video
    Virgin Birth
    Welca
    White
    White Privilege
    White Supremacists
    Wiccan
    Wordalone
    Yoga
    Youth


    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009


    RSS Feed


    Exposing the ELCA
    Exposing the ELCA is on Facebook

    Picture
    Follow Exposing the ELCA on Twitter

    ​Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. - Ephesians 5:11

Home

Share

Exposed Blog

HELP

Contact

Exposing the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
​Copyright © 2021
Photo used under Creative Commons from lcm1863
  • Home
  • ELCA Exposed News
    • on The Bible
    • on Homosexuality & Sex
    • on Universalism & Hell
    • on Goddess/Mother God/Gender Neutral Lang.
    • on Israel
    • on Abortion
    • on Social Media (ELCA Wolves Blog)
    • on Radical Hospitality and Prophecy
    • on Transgenders and Drag Queens
    • on Social Justice
    • on Gospel Reductionism / Antinomianism
    • on Called to Common Mission
    • on Other Critical Issues
  • Responses to ELCA
    • The Bible vs. ELCA
    • Churches Respond
    • Pastors Respond
    • Exposed Quotes
    • People Respond
    • More Responses
    • ELCA Finances
    • Alternatives to the ELCA
  • Exposed Blog
  • Share
  • Support
  • More
    • About & Contact
    • Help and Advice on Leaving ELCA
    • Important Information
    • Church Produced Info
    • ELCA Vault
    • Readers' Comments
    • ELCA Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber
    • ELCA Colleges
    • ELCA Seminaries
    • Want to Know Jesus?
    • Exposing the ELCA Newsletters & Important Websites
    • Submit Tips