We spend thousands of dollars per semester for “higher education” and the continuation of what our previous institutions didn’t expand on. We get a broader understanding of calculus, statistics and psychology, but why don’t we expand on sexual education and resources.
Public education, especially in the U.S., yields a rather limited understanding of sexual health and education. Most of us learned that abstinence was the only way to preserve our sexual health, we were shown grotesque images of the final stages of an STI.
In the eight grade, where your main concern was catching all of the Pokémon Go! creatures, this limited understanding of sex and protection is understandable, but what about the college students?
Georgia State is located in the heart of Atlanta, which according to BlackDoctor.org, has the 7th highest HIV/AIDS rate in the country, yet Georgia State doesn’t put sexual health at the forefront.
If you walk into the Georgia State Bookstore and survey the “Health and Beauty” section, you can find allergy medicines, hand sanitizers, laundry products, pepper spray and an assortment of cosmetics. All of these items are convenient, but where are the contraceptives? If you ask an employee at the bookstore about the lack of contraceptives, their response is always the same: “They’re free in the Student Clinic.”
I personally visited the clinic to examine the contraceptives offered. Upon entering the clinic, I noticed a few displays in the lobby area. The displays bore extensive awareness of oral health, allergies, cold and flu season and instructions for the Heimlich maneuver.
Among the posters, I found a single bowl for condoms, that was empty, but it was offered. One of the nurses offered me the condoms she had in her office. She gave me a hefty amount of the blue wrappers and was generous enough to offer me the expiration date.
I noticed immediately that she never asked me for a specific size, leading me to believe that her offerings were one-size-fits-all. In addition to limited sizing, the only free offerings on campus are condoms. So, if anyone is above average size, allergic to latex, or participates in non-vaginal intercourse, pickings are essentially nonexistent.
When discussing the topic with Georgia State students, I encountered a mixed reaction. The jury is still out on the reliability of the contraceptives offered at the clinic, even while appreciating the option. Regarding resources, such as education, awareness of statistics and other matters, some students feel the institution and students can both improve on their role in sexual health.
Some students do feel that the university adequately prepares its students for sexual health. When asked the same questions, Georgia State junior Avion Canion gave the university a fair rating on how they have equipped their students with sexual health resources.
However, he did express one concern, “I do believe GSU does a good job in providing sexual resources to students. I have used them myself several times, including the contraceptives and free STD testing services they offer. I do believe they can improve in hiring more employees to do testing services. In more than two trips I’ve met with the same tester and the wait is quite long for our campus size. There’s no rush but these services are important and should be more accessible than they are.”
I can agree with students being accountable for their own sexual health; after all, we are adults. But the university should still guide us along the way. We are still compensating for years of abstinence-only sex education, and most of us don’t know the basic functions of our own sexual organs, let alone someone else’s.
I’m not expecting the university to hold university-wide assemblies, but basic knowledge of STI statistics should be as heavily broadcasted as the next football game. If we could have the GSU 1010 course dedicated to stretching our orientation lecture into a full year, we should offer a basic sexual education as a mandatory course included with the alcohol training, one without our parents’ fabrication and an understanding that sex has happened.
Most importantly, we are not a monolith; therefore, we should not be given uniform contraceptives. People of every race, gender, identity and size exist on our campus, so it stands to reason that students should be offered an array of sizes, brands and types of contraception, such as dental dams, vaginal films and spermicidal foams.
