Florida A&M’s Student Health Services and Rattler Wellness hosted “Ladies’ Night” at Art of the Catwalk on Friday. The event was part of Sexpectations, a campaign during the month of September to provide information on safer sex and HIV prevention.
It was also a way to get students involved in cardiovascular exercise by engaging in sessions including Zumba, torquing and pole dancing.
“This is the second year we’ve been doing this,” said Tanya Tatum, director of Student Health Services. “It’s very popular with some of the students. It helps some young ladies become more comfortable with their bodies.”
Jere Clark, a fourth-year social work student from Cocoa, Fla., is an employee at Rattler Wellness, an initiative started by Student Health Services and Campus Recreation.
Clark believes students who balance spiritual, mental and physical health display overall fitness. She said this event was a fun and unique way for students to be active.
“It’s a lot of fun and a great workout,” Clark said. “Interacting with new people and trying new things, you have to come with an open mind. It’s something a lot of people have never done before.”
For some students, such as Jakyra Braxton, a freshman business administration student from Salemburg, N.C., the thought of partaking in free pole dancing was enough to bring her out.
“It can teach me to be sensual, and I’m sweating so I’m feeling good,” Braxton said.
If there is one aspect the women will take away from the event, Tatum said, it is learning how to maintain a healthy regime.
“Exercise can be fun,” Tatum said. “There a lot of ways in which we can exercise and work on being a healthy person without feeling like you have to go to the gym all the time.”