The 17th annual Tunnel of Love at MTSU will reveal the possible consequences of unsafe sex to a new generation with an interactive display.

Casie Higginbotham

The tunnel, which is a self-paced, walk-through exhibit, will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, in the Student Union Ballroom. It’s free and open to the public.

“The purpose of the event is to educate college students about sexually transmitted infections and how to practice safer sex or abstinence,” said Casie Higginbotham, a lecturer in the Department of Health and Human Performance.

Statistics gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show Tennessee ranks 21st in the nation in reported chlamydia cases, 16th in gonorrhea cases, 21st in primary and secondary syphilis cases and 19th in reported cases of congenital syphilis.

The figures are based on numbers of cases per 100,000 live births in 2017, the latest year for which figures are available.

Anyone attending this year’s Tunnel of Love can request free, confidential HIV testing from Nashville Cares, a nonprofit organization that’s been working since 1985 to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Middle Tennessee through education, advocacy and support for those at risk of, or living with, HIV.

A searchable campus map is available at http://bit.ly/MTSUParkingMap. Off-campus visitors attending the event can obtain a special one-day permit at www.mtsu.edu/parking/visit.php.

For more information, contact Higginbotham at 615-898-5543 or casie.higginbotham@mtsu.edu.

— Gina Logue (Gina.Logue@mtsu.edu)

The 17th annual Tunnel of Love will reveal the possible consequences of unsafe sex to a new generation with an interactive display. The 2019 tunnel will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, in the Student Union Ballroom. It is free and open to the public. (Photo courtesy of Jasmine Wallace/Pexels)