APEs senior Ryan Spieker and sophomore Joe Reimer sing in the impromptu karaoke session.
This past week, Doane students were exposed to a variety of SEX-related activities. That is, the Summer’s End eXtravaganza (SEX) hosted by Alpha Pi Epsilon (APEs). The event raises money for Family Health Services in Crete.
“A lot of our values tie into stuff like that as well,” junior Ryan Spieker said, explaining the fraternities’ connection to this philanthropy. “We try to be gentlemen who advocate for safe practices, which goes down to a lot of consent and other things based around that,” Spieker said. “Be safe and smart. Be a gentleman and respect people.”
The first event took place on Monday, Sept. 2, at the Smith patio from 7 to 9 p.m. The air was filled with the smell of s’mores and the sound of laughter, and people were showing their support in red and pink. APEs were selling t-shirts at this event and throughout the week to raise money for their cause. The shirts, past and present, featured illustrations, double entendres and sexual innuendos.
The following evening, Tuesday, APEs were set up in the Frees basement for a movie showing. Popcorn and shirts were available for sale, and the movie was kept secret from those in the audience. The 1999 teen sex comedy “American Pie” was the movie of choice. “This movie can make us laugh, but it also reminds us about open communication about sexual assault and sexual health in general,” Junior Bryan Alvarado said. For some in the audience, this was their first time viewing the movie, and certain scenes came as a surprise. Afterwards, viewers were invited to share two bad examples of a toxic relationship and one example of a healthy relationship observed in the movie.
The week-long event ended with a Friday Finale. This took place in Cassel from 7 to 9 p.m., although students came and went throughout. The lawn of Cassel was covered in a variety of activities, including axe throwing, corn hole, tennis ball toss, foam swords and giant connect four. While these were all used with enthusiasm, a case of impromptu karaoke stole the show. Two performers, one on the keyboard and one on the flute, from Lincoln invited students on stage with them to sing along. The first one up was Bryan Alvarado, performing “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls. This was followed by APE’s performances of “Fireflies” and “Fix You” as well as “Valarie” by junior Olivia Jones and sophomore Kenzie Lynnae. A prize raffle with numerous surprises also took place, with winners announced at the end of the night.
