Roses are red, violets are blue. Practice safe sex and healthy loving too!

Today marks the beginning of Healthy Loving Week -- a University sponsored event featuring seven workshops and a keynote speaker.

In this week before Valentine's Day, students should recognize that practicing safe sex and developing healthy relationships is not as easy as saying "I love you."

There's much more to deal with. Buying condoms isn't a practicality but a necessity. The question isn't should you buy them, but instead, what color and what size.

Many barriers to healthy, loving relationships still remain. For women, sexual assault and acquaintance rape continue to draw concern. For gay men and lesbians, living and loving in a society that is not willing to embrace them continues to be a problem.

But these subjects and more will be dealt with in workshops dealing with sexual etiquette and healthy same-sex relationships. The week will end with keynote speaker Lauren Burke, a woman dealing with the AIDS virus.

So nibble your loved ones' necks and whisper in their ears: "Attend Healthy Loving Week and learn to love a little better."