In the world of college, many students think heavy drinking and sex go hand in hand, but this could be a combination for danger - sex and vodka don't mix like milk and cereal.
The lively, confident and charismatic River Huston bounded onto the stage of Meharry Hall Tuesday night to an audience of over 200 screaming and cheering Panhellenic women of DePauw University.
Huston, an official NCAA speaker, has been motivating college students and women across the United States for over 20 years with her humorous yet informative speaking based on her own personal experiences. Huston candidly discusses everything from alcohol consumption, sexuality and self-esteem.
An award winning poet, journalist, performer and HIV/AIDS activist, Huston has written several books including, "A Positive Life: Portraits Of Women Living With HIV" and "Goddess: A New Guide to Feminine Wisdom."
Huston fearlessly jumped into her talk about sex.
"What is the scientific term for performing oral sex on a man?" Huston asked.
The female audience responded with a mix of boisterous laughter, applause and shock.
The topic of being sexually active throughout college was Huston's first area to conquer amongst the controversial topics presented. There was one major point Huston continuously reinforced. That is, the best way to avoid negative repercussions is to not mix excessive alcohol consumption with engaging in sexual activity.
"When you're hooking up with someone, or going out with someone, or making out with someone, it [shouldn't be] because you're doing it because you're too drunk, " Huston said. "It's your heart."
To tie together the serious issues of alcohol abuse, sexual activity and the threat of STDs, Huston organized a humorous live demonstration.
Huston used her own personal stories of being sexually assaulted at a young age in order to communicate the reality of the controversial topics that affect female college students all over the country.
The initial response from the audience showed the satisfaction they felt from Huston's words.
"I thought [the speech] was very funny and honest, and made us feel more comfortable about tabooed topics," said sophomore Kelly Killpack.
Sophomore Alli Caplinger had a fresh idea for what could be done to improve the audience's experience in the future.
"I would like to see IFC (Interfraternity Council) become more involved with more male interactions at the River Huston speech," Caplinger said. "It would be a really interesting conversation to have and the topics gender-neutral enough to provoke interest from both sides."