I’m going to be that friend that is an absolute buzzkill and bore everyone with some scary facts because I know no boundaries and because this is an important subject for college students.
It is important to be vocal in life, especially sexually. By preaching safe sex (but not elaborating on what that means) or by teaching abstinence-only education, we are doing a grave disservice to our youth and our society.
Sex is beautiful and absolutely mind-blowing. Sex is perfectly natural, so when people treat it as taboo when discussing how to be safe, I find it a little bizarre. We can’t be expected to learn anything about sexual safety if we’re too afraid to say penis and vagina in the same sentence.
Ten million people ages 15-24 test positive for at least one sexually transmitted disease every year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also goes on to say that one in four of those in the 13-24 age demographic account for all new HIV cases. And four out of five who test positive are male.
Wrap it up and don’t go to a party and do it with the first person you see. When I have sex within the first week I go and get myself checked. | Donte Jerry, freshman in nursing
And men should be using condoms, but even condoms aren’t perfect. Condoms fail 12 percent of the time, according to CDC. Maybe that doesn’t seem high, but even a 1 failure rate is too high when the failure rate results in having a child. Personally, however, having a child does not bother me as much as the thought of getting some infectious and potentially non-curable disease lurking in my body.
We can turn the television on, see random strangers on a TV show jump into bed with one another, but we almost never see the other side of what happens when you are irresponsible. And of course in the real world people don’t usually broadcast their sexual setbacks. Seeing an ‘I have herpes’ shirt or sign every now and then would sure help in the selection process, though.
It’s nice to live in this fantasy world of thinking “that will never happen to me,” but it’s completely impractical. I have known married men and women who went to the doctor for a check-up and were diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease.
It’s a messed up world, and, as cynical as it sounds, we can’t trust people, especially not with our health, but we can start to change that by getting tested and by being honest with each other.
Just because you can’t see, feel or smell a disease doesn’t mean you’re clean. This is especially important for women who can become infertile due to an untreated STD. And often, the excuse is, “I didn’t think I had anything.”
People don’t think they’ll win the lottery either, but they still purchase tickets.
In no way, does getting tested make you promiscuous or less than human. It makes you a responsible, sexually-active human being.
Person on the street
Students around the Midwestern State University were asked about the importance of sexual health and what advice they gave about having sex.
Jeanne@ Medical Center for Gynecology in Athens Greece • Apr 7, 2014 at 4:12 AM
April marks the annual observance of STD Awareness Month, which is the perfect month to break the silence and raise education about the impact of this disease on our lives as well as in an effort to combat the nation’s high rates of sexually transmitted infections. Public awareness and knowledge remain critically low around the country and US currently has the highest rates of STDs of any other nation in the developed world. That’s why it’s very important to make a move in promoting general knowledge about STD’s to both young and old people.