`Sex' comes to Houston Hall

As students were walking into Houston Hall on Monday, they were welcomed by two anatomically correct "eroticakes," symbolizing the theme of the night's showing of Sex and the City. The Social Planning and Events Committee, the Undergraduate Assembly and Facilitating Learning About Sexual Health teamed up to ask students to come and get free "sexy" food and activities during the party, which was part of LoveFest. LoveFest is a week-long celebration organized by SPEC and Tangible Change to help all Penn students celebrate Valentine's Day. Since Sex and the City currently shows on Home Box Office, the event also served to promote the UA's petition to bring both HBO and Comcast SportsNet to the Penn Video Network. The party featured a variety of "hip" New York activities, foods and beverages to participants. Those in attendance also had the option of watching several Sex and the City episodes. Besides drinking "champagne" -- actually sparkling apple cider -- students could eat the various cookies and cakes on trays offered by waiters and waitresses. In addition, a hot dog vendor prepared New York-style franks for students. And Douglas Cosmetics was there for the ladies -- the majority of those attending the party were female -- by offering free makeovers. At the FLASH table, students were offered a bite out of two cakes with a certain whimsical twist -- the two "eroticakes" were decorated with choice phrases like "Nothin' like eatin' out!" written on them in icing. On a more serious note, FLASH also offered free condoms, as well as brochures on safe sex and other topics pertaining to sexual health. People constantly flowed in and out of the party, but at any given time, about 40 people were sitting on sofas and armchairs, watching Sarah Jessica Parker's antics. In the midst of the festivities, UA member Andrew Gomez gave a short speech regarding the UA's proposal to bring HBO and Comcast to the Penn Video Network. "In my opinion, HBO is the only cable station that offers such diverse programming both in content and in its portrayal of America," Gomez said. "There's something missing in ResNet right now and [HBO] fills that void." The UA's proposal said that the channel provides over 16,000 movies per year and original, award-winning programming, making it an appropriate addition to the Penn Video Network. The proposal also states that Comcast is necessary because it shows Philadelphia sports games not aired elsewhere. Throughout the party, UA members busily collected signatures for its petition, which is hoped to show the University the level of interest in having the two channels added to the current line-up. The event created nothing but positive reaction as students enjoyed the free food and activities. "I kind of just wandered into it [the party], but it's been really fun," College junior Anne Nicolaysen said. Many supported the efforts to bring HBO to campus. "I just think this is good because I think HBO should come to campus," said Allison Carryl, a College sophomore. "I'm a Sex and the City fan and I hate that I can't watch it when I'm at school."