By Leslie Marchese, Campus Carrier Managing Editor
Berry requires freshman to attend the “How Can I Kiss You?” lecture every year to more fully understand the prominence and repercussions of sexual assault on college campuses. Students learn how, and why, to more actively engage in consent before, during and after any kind of sexual activity, and how to seek and participate in healthy relationships.
Although Berry promotes healthy sexual behavior through educational programs like this, we are severely lacking in reaching out to students with products needed for safer sex.
Through programming like this we acknowledge that college students are going to have sex. College, while known for its capacity to be a place of academic exploration, is more often viewed as a place of self-exploration, which for many includes defining what you want (and don’t want) in a partner.
In a study published by Wayne State University and Michigan State University, over two-thirds of college students were found to be in at least one friends-with-benefits relationship during their college career. Coupled with the hookup culture that’s been pervasive on college campuses since birth control became widely available in the 70s, it’s pretty reasonable to say that many students are having sex. And not just having a lot of sex, but having sex with several different partners.
According to a study by “The Journal of Sex Research,” somewhere between 10 and 16 percent of college-aged students had more than three sexual partners during their college career. Having sex with several different people is not a problem, but lack of protection can cause rampant transmission of sexual diseases. According to the Center for Disease Control, people ages 15 to 24 account for about 10 million cases of STDs diagnosed each year. I know I’m not alone in thinking that those numbers are far too high.
Many colleges, such as the University of Georgia, offer several types of contraception and condoms to students to promote sexual health. However, very few offer any form of advanced sexual education beyond what students receive in elementary through high school, which is lacking in actual education about sexual health. Over 30 percent of schools in the U.S. teach abstinence-only programs, according to a study headed by NPR, and 47 percent teach abstinence plus programs, which introduce students to some basic healthy practices, such as contraceptive methods, but promote abstinence.
At an SGA meeting a few weeks ago, junior Marcus Ghee raised the question to the student body, why doesn’t our health and wellness center offer condoms to students? This is a question that struck home with me. In addition, I want to know why we, as a college, haven’t come together to provide education along with the means to prevent STDs and unplanned pregnancies.
Currently, many student groups, including the Peer Educators and EMPOWER, have programs that promote sexual health. However, although students are prominent forces on Berry’s campus, I believe that administration and the Ladd center should be bigger advocates of healthy behaviors. There need to be more programs at Berry that include comprehensive education about sexual health for heterosexual relationships, homosexual relationships and everything in between. In addition, as Marcus pointed out a few weeks ago, and many other students agree, I believe that we need to provide items that help students practice safer sex, such as condoms and dental dams.