- Meagan Schorr,
S.W.A.T. volunteer
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G Spot volunteers provide information to interested students in front of Felmley Hall. (Photo by Kristen Wegrzyn / Staff Photographer). |
NORMAL – On certain days at Illinois State University, there is a spot on the quad designated to a small structure whose goal is to enlighten students about health. Its bright red and white colors contrast with the drab brown of the buildings and concrete, and students flock around it to grab certain goodies that will keep them healthy. The gazebo doesn’t give out a magic pill that will make people healthy forever. Instead, the workers dressed in casual apparel and a t-shirt, which has the saying “You’ve Found the G Spot” on them, hand out small, square packages which contain condoms.
This small kiosk is called the G Spot. The G Spot is a portable gazebo that is utilized by Health Promotion and Wellness and the Student Wellness Ambassador Team, or S.W.A.T. Its main goal though is not just handing out condoms to students pumped up with hormones. It is to provide students with insight into their health. Jackie Curtin, a junior at ISU, started working at the G Spot earlier this year, and she said they provide helpful insight for students.
“We help people here. We can give them insight into their health. What we do is we provide things like condoms for safe-sex because we want people to be healthy. Condoms can get to be pretty expensive, and I think that we are really helping people here with our work. We have a lot of resources for students, as we also have information about smoking and how to quit,” Curtin said.
Curtin said the G Spot provides condoms, and she wasn’t kidding. On top of the white counters in the gazebo lie a plethora of clear, plastic jugs that contain many different types of condoms. It’s hard to imagine that there are so many different types, but it seems the G Spot has everything from flavored condoms, Trojan brand condoms, and the Magnum condom which is sealed in a gleaming gold package. Students are allowed to grab five condoms a day, but it hardly makes a dent on the quantity that the G Spot has.
People who work at the G Spot though come from a wide variety of majors and backgrounds. It isn’t just people who are only interested in sex, as the experience can help the workers just as much as the students.
“I’ve only been working here since the start of this semester, and it has been a great experience so far. I needed to do clinical hours for my health education major, and I wanted to join here because I could help students and it would be a lot of fun,” Curtin said.
Meagan Schorr, a fifth year senior and volunteer for S.W.A.T., also decided to work at the G Spot. Schorr agrees that people sometimes get the wrong impression of the G Spot, as it doesn’t only promote sex. Rather, it promotes health overall.
“We don’t just offer condoms here, and people should know that. We offer services and workshops as well. We just sponsored the Redbird Rumble event to help spread awareness on campus about health,” Schorr said.
Schorr is a health education major, and she joined S.W.A.T. to get engaged in the community as well as for class. But Schorr said students shouldn’t think of the G Spot as a place just for condoms or sex, and it isn’t a place to be afraid or worried about.
“Anyone can come up to us. We try to have a great atmosphere here. People might be unsure about what we do exactly. But I’m not embarrassed to work here at all. When I interact with people I gauge how comfortable people are and I ask them questions. People sometimes don’t want to talk, but I usually tell people what they need to know,” Schorr said.
The G Spot isn’t just all work. When employees aren’t handing out condoms or information, they relax underneath the cool shade of the gazebo and joke around. There isn’t a time when a person’s voice isn’t being heard, and smiles are almost always plastered on their faces.
Whenever a person strolls up to the gazebo, the employees can tell right away if they have been there before or if they are a newcomer. Jessie Uitermark, who works at the G Spot and is a personnel administration graduate student, has developed a talent for that.
“Some people that come up are friendly and you can tell they have been here before because they know exactly what they want. People who are just walking around and unsure of themselves don’t come here often. People though sometimes do funny things with condoms though as the make jokes about them,” Uitermark said.
The people that come to the G Spot might take what they need, but they give the employees some funny stories and entertainment.
“I think it is funny when people come up to me and ask me if we have a certain brand. People have their favorite brands of condoms that they swear by, and they trust them over other brands,” Curtin said while putting away some of the prophylactics.
Walking up to the G Spot could be a problem for some people, as nervousness sometimes can take over.
“One funny thing I notice is guys tend to come up to the booth and grab-and-go. Girls though are more likely to stop and talk to me about certain brands and they like to discuss things. People ask about which the best ones to use are, and which condoms do what, and it’s a funny conversation,” Curtin said. A smile crept onto her face when she discussed the image of nervous men grabbing what they need, and then quickly walking away trying not to be noticed.
The G Spot is usually out on the quad on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the amount of people that stop by can change depending on the location. According to Uitermark, there are about 300 people who come to the spot when it is at Schroeder and Felmley Hall.
While the G Spot might be elusive to some people and hard to find, the people working it are always willing to help someone.