2008 Woodie Awards
Nichole's corner
An honest discussion about your sexual health
Nichole Betts, Staff Writer
Issue date: 2/20/07
Last Updated: 8/9/07
This is a column about all things sex. Don't stop reading just yet! You don't even know what I'm going to say.
My three-and-a-half years at Whitworth have taught me many things - none of them sex-related. This is a problem. I'm expected to be a trained professional and, to some, a wise adult starting May 20, 2007, the day I graduate from Whitworth.
My informal research shows that most students here don't even know the best ways to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections (STIs), diseases (STDs) and unplanned pregnancies.
Maybe people don't like to talk about these very real concerns because of the stigma often attached to sexually-active people, especially at Whitworth. Or, maybe people are too embarrassed that they don't know the answers to these questions in the first place to ask for advice or help.
Either way, that's about to change. I'm sick of people whispering to one another in Saga about so-and-so who just found out she was pregnant or so-and-so who is rumored to have an STI. It's time for sex-ed.
Student Health Center Director Jan Murray said that there is an underlying current of discomfort on campus from sexually-active students who are honest about their choices.
"We've made a conscious effort not to become controversial by doing a whole lot of advertising," Murray said of the services the Health Center provides. "Our intention is to fly under the radar."
But driving the issue of sexual health underground doesn't prevent anything, Murray said. The negative sexual atmosphere at Whitworth is damaging because students are uninformed about how to protect themselves, she said.
Estimates in 2000 suggest that, while representing 25 percent of the sexually active population, 15 to 24-year-olds acquire nearly half of all new sexually transmitted infections, according to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP). A combination of behavioral, biological and cultural reasons make sexually-active adolescents and young adults at higher risk for acquiring STIs compared to older adults.
My three-and-a-half years at Whitworth have taught me many things - none of them sex-related. This is a problem. I'm expected to be a trained professional and, to some, a wise adult starting May 20, 2007, the day I graduate from Whitworth.
My informal research shows that most students here don't even know the best ways to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections (STIs), diseases (STDs) and unplanned pregnancies.
Maybe people don't like to talk about these very real concerns because of the stigma often attached to sexually-active people, especially at Whitworth. Or, maybe people are too embarrassed that they don't know the answers to these questions in the first place to ask for advice or help.
Either way, that's about to change. I'm sick of people whispering to one another in Saga about so-and-so who just found out she was pregnant or so-and-so who is rumored to have an STI. It's time for sex-ed.
Student Health Center Director Jan Murray said that there is an underlying current of discomfort on campus from sexually-active students who are honest about their choices.
"We've made a conscious effort not to become controversial by doing a whole lot of advertising," Murray said of the services the Health Center provides. "Our intention is to fly under the radar."
But driving the issue of sexual health underground doesn't prevent anything, Murray said. The negative sexual atmosphere at Whitworth is damaging because students are uninformed about how to protect themselves, she said.
Estimates in 2000 suggest that, while representing 25 percent of the sexually active population, 15 to 24-year-olds acquire nearly half of all new sexually transmitted infections, according to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP). A combination of behavioral, biological and cultural reasons make sexually-active adolescents and young adults at higher risk for acquiring STIs compared to older adults.
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