Ohio University's Department of Health Promotion, part of the Division of Student Affairs, has decided to continue two series of informational events designed to promote wellness among university students, faculty and staff. Wellness Wednesdays and the POWER Hour series are weekly hour-long programs intended to bring awareness, offer information and provide tools for a healthier life.

"It's really about promoting positive lifestyle choices," Cory D'Ambrosio said. A senior and third-year member of the department's student group POWER (Promoting Ohio University Wellness, Education and Responsibility), D'Ambrosio said there often is a gap between what people think they know and the actual truth.

"There are a lot of things people don't know about sexual assault, about recreational drugs or even the proper way to put on a condom, and there are great risks involved in all of those," D'Ambrosio said. "We put the information out there for people to make the best decision they can for themselves."

Some topics speak more directly to student concerns than others. Programming on spring break safety, for instance, will stress the dangers of tanning beds, drastic weight-loss programs and "spur-of-the-moment decisions about tattoos."

While the selection of topics often is student-driven, all members of the Ohio University community can benefit from many of the programs planned.

"All of our programming is geared toward issues specific to college campuses, but that doesn't just mean students," senior POWER member Lauren Daniels said.

At last week's Wellness Wednesday kickoff, titled "Sneezin' Season," cups of chicken soup and tubes of lip balm were available alongside pamphlets detailing the difference between the flu and the common cold and offering advice on how to combat both.

"We hope visitors will walk away with a little more information or, at the very least, that we've put a thought or two in the back of their minds about how to make a better decision when it comes to their health," department Director Char Kopchick said.

Here's a look at both programs' upcoming offerings:

Wellness Wednesdays
(noon – 1 p.m. Wednesdays in Baker University Center's third-floor atrium)

POWER Hour
(7 p.m. Tuesdays in Baker's Multicultral Center Room 219)

For more information about the Department of Health Promotion, visit www.ohio.edu/healthwell or call 593-4742.