Most talk about STDs and condoms in a high school classroom setting, as I’m sure most of you remember, was met with muffled laughter and fl at-out mockery (similar to the reaction to hearing the words penis and vagina, no doubt).
The atmosphere of such sex education classes seemed to be permeated with thoughts of invincibility – an attitude that contracting an STD or getting pregnant could never happen to you or someone you know. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Of the 1,000 NU students who took our poll, 19 people, or 2.1 percent, responded saying they currently have an STD. Interestingly enough, this number is relatively small compared to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s fi ndings that although 15- to 24-year-olds represent only a quarter of the sexually active population, they account for nearly half of all new STDs.
Despite your urge to pat yourself on the back for being seemingly safe sex conscious students, note that 56.3 percent of sexually active Wildcats report they do not always wear condoms. Furthermore, three-quarters of the heterosexual students surveyed think it’s the male’s responsibility to provide the condom. Although guys are the ones who actually have to wrap their tools (maybe some of you have been brave enough to try out that plastic bag also known as a female condom – props to you), girls should certainly be more prepared. Girls don’t necessarily need to have a fishbowl of condoms on their bedside table like they’re Halloween candy, but is it fair to expect the guy to perpetually be prepared? According to 75.9 percent of males surveyed, the answer is affi rmative.
Asking for a rubber is one thing; inquiring about one’s sexual history and STD status is an entirely different story, as our survey reveals. An astounding 70.5 percent of respondents have never asked a partner if he/she has been tested for STDs before engaging in a sexual activity. Oddly enough, only 6.9 percent of respondents are not comfortable laying down boundaries for a hookup, and only 10.4 percent are not comfortable expressing sexual desires to a partner. If you’re secure enough to talk about sex in general with your partner – and with your friends, as 88.6 percent of you are – you’d hopefully also feel confi dent enough to discuss the more unpleasant (and potentially lingering) facets of sex.
