Sarah Pohlman
College is one of the best opportunities to learn how to become more responsible. Since we are able to balance our social, work and school lives, we can develop the skills to become mature adults. However, there is one responsibility college students are avoiding that is inhibiting them from becoming mature adults and can cause permanent damage to their lives.
Although they have knowledge and resources readily available, college students are becoming less sexually responsible and are at a greater risk to contract sexually transmitted diseases and infections.
According to the CDC, there were “1.5 million new cases of chlamydia, about 395,000 new cases of gonorrhea and nearly 24,000 cases of syphilis” in 2015, and Americans ages 15-24 account for the majority of these new cases. And according to the GLBT Center, “one in four college students has a Sexually Transmitted Infection.”
This high rate of STIs in college-aged students can be attributed to college students not using preventative measures to stop the spread of disease. According to NursingSchools.net, “only 54 percent of students regularly use condoms during vaginal intercourse, 29 percent during anal intercourse and only 4 percent during oral sex.”
Many STDs including chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, and HPV have no noticeable symptoms although they are present in the body. Also according to the GLBT Center, 80 percent of people who have an STI experience no noticeable symptoms. Since students are unaware of the symptoms of STDs, they believe that they are “clean” and able to go into sexual situations unprotected.
Not only are college students less responsible during sexual situations, but they are also not responsible after. Although college students are at the highest risk for contracting STIs, they are not regularly getting tested. According to the American Sexual Health Association, “even though young people account for half of new STI cases, a recent survey showed only about 12% were tested for STIs in the last year.”
Although as a collective, college students are not being sexually responsible, NC State students can make efforts to make better sexual choices. NC State and Wake County have tons of resources for students to learn how to become more sexually responsible.
The pharmacy at Student Health Services gives free materials to prevent the spread of STDs and offers students “one free female condom and three free male condoms a day.” Student Health Services also offers preventative medicine and vaccines including Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), which helps lower the chance of contracting HIV, and Gardasil, which lowers the chance of contracting HPV.
There are also many resources on and around campus that offer STD testing for little or no cost. The GLBT Center offers free STD Testing once a month in a private setting with no proof of insurance required. The Student Health Center in collaboration with Wake County Human Services “offers free testing with an STI counselor at Student Health Services the first and third Thursdays each month in the afternoon.”
Off campus there are many other testing resources near campus including Planned Parenthood, Women’s Center of Wake County, and the LGBT Center of Raleigh. Wake County Government has an entire calendar dedicated to giving information on testing locations, condom sites, and other free resources.
We have so many resources available for us, and there is no excuse for us to be sexually irresponsible. STDs can be difficult to talk about, especially with sexual partners; however, it is vital in being sexually healthy. If we take preventative steps, college students can become less susceptible to sexual diseases and lower the number of those infected and impacted by STDs. The resources are there for you. Unless you utilize them, you won’t fully become a sexually responsible adult.