Consent Fair welcomed students with a lively and bustling atmosphere on Apr. 3. This was Bakersfield College’s fourth annual Consent Fair, held in the Breezeway.
Organizations and clubs came together to help students and faculty explore the vastness and deep meaning of consent and boundaries. Vendors at the fair provided games, food, and lectures for people to immerse themselves in.
The Sexuality and Gender Acceptance Club (SAGA) partook in the fair for a third year in a row and demonstrated a puppet show on consent. They also handed out flyers to invite students to join their club.
“We wanted to convey the importance of communication, especially in dangerous situations,” said SAGA club president and BC student Lance Mack. “It’s important to understand consent, even in or out of romantic/sexual relationships.” SAGA club meets every Wednesday from 4:10-5:30 p.m.
Other cubs/organizations that contributed to the fair were BC Campus Safety, BC Student Life, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Dolores Huerta Foundation, and Kern County Public Health (KCPH).
Disease Investigator for KCPH, Luis Castro, spoke on why they came to Consent Fair. “We wanted to Promote the importance of public health and safety,” said Castro. “We also wanted to highlight HIV awareness and staying safe.”
Event organizer and coordinator Adrianna Oceguare deeply rooted herself within the college community over the years to build connections with others. Overtime, she has built a strong and supportive foundation in order to spread awareness on Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and information for students to apply to their lives in regard to their own safety.
“It’s important to learn statistics and tips so that we can protect our own boundaries and others can do so as well,” said Oceguera. “We can prevent it before it happens.”
Overall, the fair served a great purpose for students and faculty to learn more about an overlooked topic. It allowed them to get informed about how to maintain safe relationships with the people around them.