By EVELINA RAMIREZ
 Staff Writer

As college students, finding the necessary care and health advice can sometimes cause a headache. Knowing where to direct your questions can also be confusing.

However, on Wednesday, April 8, Western hosted its annual health fair on the Health and Wellness Center’s basketball courts to provide students with information and answer their questions about health.

While sitting at the check-in table, Sarah Fox and Alyssa Raimer both agreed that the fair served a dual purpose: to inform Western of the resources available to students in all aspects of health and well-being and to promote healthy behavior.

At the check-in desk, students were given a stamp card to take with them to the booths. Once fully stamped, the card could be entered in a raffle to win prizes like a Magic Bullet, a Fitbit or a bike.

Representatives from the Student Health and Counseling Center, Monmouth Fitness Club and Alcohol Anonymous had booths on display with a variety of valuable information regarding health, addiction and personal issues.

Medical organizations such as Salem Health, Corvallis Clinic and the Dallas Health and Vitality Center displayed their important information via eye-catching poster boards and free samples.

The Dallas Health and Vitality Center promoted healthy free samples such as power drinks and cranberry-orange muffins. The muffins contained one of their products called Nutracleanse, which is an all-natural food fiber from organic sources. They also displayed an array of their supplements: chewable Vitamin D gummies, Dairy Enzymes and Vitamin B12.

One of the booths helped to ease the stress dealing with finances can cause.

“We answer common questions from students about building credit and overall financial
wellness,” said Christina Budiselic, a sophomore elementary education major.

Life Source Natural Foods, a grocery store in Salem, filled its booth with information on its organic, GMO-free fruits and vegetables.

For about 21 years, Life Source has provided customers with the purest produce by eliminating harmful pesticides embedded within the food. They also label their grocery aisles with gluten-free labels, to make it an easier shopping experience for customers.

The booth offered a basket full of sweet, organic carrots for students to munch on while wandering on to other booths.

Dr. Marty, from Thornton Chiropractic located in Independence, explained, “People have misconceptions about what chiropractors do. We do not crack bones; we deal with the nervous system and always treat the cause, not the symptoms.”

There was a massage chair placed in front of the booth for those who wanted to sample a chiropractic massage.

The health fair is held annually, and has been for over a decade, providing knowledge about health resources available in and around the Monmouth area.