SHADES hosts seventh annual sex carnival

tabling organizations also gave out prizes such as pronoun buttons, fidget toys and stickers.

Margaret Giordano arts & culture contributor

Over 100 students flocked to Old Union Hall last Saturday to take part in the final event of the “Love, SHADES” series — the seventh-annual Sex Carnival.

SHADES has been hosting “Love, SHADES” throughout the last month. The Carnival, which was in collaboration with 16 other campus organizations, promised a night of fun with games, a photo wall, a raffle, a student competition and a drag performance — all while attendees learned about safe-sex practices. On every single one of these promises, the SHADES Sex Carnival delivered.

Upon entering, every attendee received a glow stick wristband, a raffle ticket and a punch card that participants could fill by visiting the club tables to get more raffle tickets. Every organization had a different sex-themed game, including relationship truth-or-dare, toss the ring on the cock, pin the clitoris on the vagina, pop the boob, sex and sexuality jeopardy, match the name to the sex position and a race to put a condom on a cucumber.

Besides raffle tickets,

A big goal for SHADES was to create a fun and inclusive environment for everyone, and they succeeded by all accounts.

Chelssy Taveras, a junior majoring in sociology, attended the Sex Carnival has her first-ever SHADES event.

“It’s so nice, and it feels very inclusive,” Taveras said. “I’m happy we have spaces like this at [Binghamton University].”

Attendees of the Carnival milled about from table to table, laughing and chatting among each other seeming entirely at ease. At 8:45 p.m., everyone took their seats as one of the main events began — the drag performance by The Dancing Diva of Binghamton, Paris LuRux.

A familiar guest performer for on-campus events, LuRux stunned in her gold metallic outfit. She captivated the crowd with her performance of Ava Max’s “Maybe You’re the Problem.” People were uproariously cheering and clapping as she got everyone riled up with her dancing, with the loudest cheer coming as she took a running slide into a split.

After her performance, LuRux took up the mantle as the MC for the student competition, where it was revealed that the category was “best dressed” and that the winner would receive 20 raffle tickets. Students flocked to the stage area to use it as a runway to show off their outfits to the rest of the onlookers. Contestant number 13 ended up being crowned the winner by the audience.

By 10 p.m., the raffle was officially closed and the winners were ready to be announced. Prizes ranged from self-care items such as lotion and face masks to sex toys such as vibrators and butt plugs. Cheers echoed through Old Union Hall as the lucky winners were called up to receive their prizes.

Katherine Chen, a junior majoring in economics, had a great time at the Sex Carnival.

“The drag show was really nice,” Chen said. “I’ve never been to this event [before], so it was nice to experience it.”

Taveras felt similarly, saying her favorite parts were the drag show and the student competition.

SHADES President

Sheyla Santana Escoto, a senior majoring in history, considered the event a major success and a testament to her E-Board’s work.

“I’m just really excited because we’ve had an amazing turnout,” Escoto said. “It makes my heart happy that it turned out this way. They’ve worked so hard. It was extremely difficult since we’ve been working on this event for months, since the summer, and they’re extremely proud of themselves and I’m proud of them, too.”

The seventh-annual SHADES Sex Carnival was truly a labor of love, and the amount of effort put in by organizers shined. SHADES and its collaborating organizations not only succeeded in creating a safe and inclusive environment for everyone in attendance, but they also managed to do so in a way that was still fun and electric, as well as educational.