The weekend night party is an all too familiar scene involving the inevitable hookup. It’s an exciting feeling when the party is coming to a close, but you know the night isn’t quite over yet.

With students returning for the new school year, reunions take place between friends and lovers and new relationships begin to form. Students have been waiting all summer long to come back to a world of loose inhibitions and scandalous behavior with the anticipation of exciting new hookups and potential new partners— some just for the night, some maybe long-term.

During welcome week, students reconnect with others from the semester before in addition to meeting new people. Factoring in all the hormones, testosterone and anticipation of welcome week, it’s natural for people hook up— a lot.

Getting together with a group of friends and recounting the night before— the stories, the mistakes and the successes— is common. Almost everyone brings some sort of hookup story to the table, whether it be completely unexpected or long-awaited. The hookup game is no doubt a fun one, for both the participants and observers. However, it is always a risky game to play. Sex with strangers is dangerous and there is always risks that come along with it, especially the possibility of a sexually transmitted infection.

STI’s are common among college campuses, and as exciting and climactic a spontaneous hookup may be, it’s easy for sex-crazed students to forget safety first.

Welcome week (and the weeks following) is the perfect time to go crazy in the most sexual ways, and people should take advantage of it. But before spending the night with that special someone of the evening, remember to take the necessary steps to be safe. Just think of how fun the next morning will be knowing you scored the night before and are STI-free.

Emma Vidak-Benjamin can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_news on Twitter.