Everything Wrong With US Media Coverage

The Scoffayette

Everything Wrong With US Media Coverage

The Scoffayette

Everything Wrong With US Media Coverage

The Scoffayette

Condoms galore

Condoms+galore

Photo by Danielle Moore ‘17

Last week, I lost my Condom Bingo virginity.

In the fourth annual presentation of the fun and wacky game that closed out Sex Week, I could not help but have a euphoric time. Anytime you’re using condoms and bingo-boards to decide who wins sex toys, crappy DVDs (I won Caddyshack and Knocked Up!) and finally, a flat-screen TV (didn’t win that!), you know that you’re in for a wild ride.

My favorite part of the night? Grape-flavored condom balloons.

The experience was enhanced with the traditional victory cry of “Bingo,” being replaced with the slightly less family-friendly “I’m cumming!” There was electricity in the atmosphere that was unmatched, as every single participant got vocally excited with each number called out. Each time we were prompted to “clear the boards,” the gathered players erupted into protests and reluctant groans, as it seemed that everybody, myself included, was always one or two spots away from what we needed for a bingo. Or climax. Isn’t that always the case…

At one point, the Marquis dining hall was so full that several students had to sit on the ground, and many were socializing with their friends and laughing at the prizes each had won. I had the questionable pleasure of staying the entire time – from 9 p.m. until midnight – and was there before many had entered and after many had left.

I believe that Condom Bingo is popular for one reason above all others: it provides a place for all students across campus celebrate sexuality in a way that we don’t often get to do. Sex Wweek gives a home for discussions of of sexuality, but it is condom bingo that allows us to have fun with sex. The humor inherent to the game is no different from the jokes we often tell with our friends, in private, but it has the added experience of sharing that fun with the entire Lafayette community, free from fear of violating social grace, from embarrassment, and from judgment.

Much to my chagrin, I left too late to witness a student running the “naked mile” in the aftermath, but that is essentially what you feel like doing after the experience. Much to my surprise, I feel that I got something out of the event. Maybe that’s just the large stack of condoms I got to take home with me. My advice to bingo virgins? Come early, lest you be subjected to choosing, as a prize, between Sex and the City 2 and Knocked Up.

As the level of interest already demonstrated in the event was so overwhelming, expect there to be a fifth game next year. A thank you goes out to all who made the wonderful evening possible, especially Gene Kelly, everyone from QuEST,the Office of Gender and Sexuality Programs, and most of all to whomever made the delicious sandwiches and the genius who ordered the pizza. Sex and food. What greater goods are there, really?

I, personally, believe that Condom Bingo is popular for one reason above all others: it provides a place for all students across campus to gather together and celebrate sexuality in a way that we don’t often get to do. We are taught all our lives to be ashamed of sexuality, to hide it, that it is weird and inherently an uncomfortable subject. Sex week provides a home for discussion of sexuality, but it is condom bingo that provides a true celebration and allows us to have fun with it. The humor inherent to the game is no different from the jokes we often tell with our friends, in private, but it has the added experience of sharing that fun with the entire Lafayette community.

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