Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

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October 4, 2022
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Texas Public Health Week brings awareness with carnival

2017-04-02_Health_Week_Angel
Angel Ulloa

The Texas Public Health Week carnival showcased everything from proper alcohol servings to a therapeutic horse Monday on the East Mall.

In accordance with National Public Health Week, the UT organization Texas Public Health is hosting a week centered on awareness, promotion and education about topics surrounding public health. The first event of the week was a carnival with tabling and games.

“I feel like a lot of people don’t know what public health is,” said Julia Doncaster, public health senior and president of Texas Public Health. “It’s important for people to care about their own health and also be aware of ways to help others as well.”


Some tables included the Red Cross Club, Longhorn EMS, Voices Against Violence, Healing with Horses Ranch, Healthy Horns and free HIV testing. Each table had its own theme or interactive way to teach students about public health. Some focused on issues such as alcohol abuse, fire safety and safe sex.

“I think it’s really important that UT is teaching safe sex,” chemical engineering junior Yanan Wang said. “I have friends at other schools that don’t even address it. I think (events like this one) are important because they make people feel more comfortable to talk about sex. I think it was really nice to be in an environment where everyone was okay to talk about a somewhat taboo subject.”

Doncaster said the hope for this event was that students learn what public health is and how diverse the fields within that subject can be. The public health major includes environmental, nutrition, social and behavioral health, health policy, biostatistics and epidemiology.

“We are here to spread awareness about our majors, public health measures people can take and offer networking opportunities,” said Nayab Qazi, public health junior and Texas Public Health member. “We just want people to know how they can take care with public health in their daily lives.”

The events continue through Friday with performances, presentations, a discussion on opioid addiction and a networking fair. 

“Most of the tables had a theme of consent,” biology and Plan II freshman Sweta Ganta said. “They talked about relatable things. I think this event raised a lot of awareness. I came here with a blank slate about a lot of these topics. The exposure was really good.”

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Texas Public Health Week brings awareness with carnival