Volume: 59 Issue: 9
NOVEMBER 4, 2015
driftwood.uno.edu
SEX SMART?
ILLUSTRATION BY TRAVEN STOUT
Campus resources available if you know where to look BY ANNA GOWIN Features Editor With the release of Trojan’s annual Sexual Health Report Card came the news that UNO was ranked within the bottom ten universities in the country for sexual health, out of the 140 surveyed. Trojan says that the rankings are based on how well schools meet a set of eleven criteria, largely centered around the services offered by campus health centers. Criteria listed on the Sexual Health Report Card include hours of operation, contraceptive availability, condom availability, HIV/STI testing onsite, outreach programs from peer groups and sexual assault resources. Currently, Student Health Services is only open during the week, from 7:30-4:30, by appointment only. And while the school does offer STI testing on-campus, HIV testing is only available off-campus, through resources like the NO/ AIDS Task Force.
All of these are considered strong blows against UNO’s sexual health ranking, especially at a time when 1 in 4 students has an STI, according to Stanford University’s Sexual Health Peer Resource Center. With the limit of services available to be provided by Student Health Services, most of the responsibility for campus sexual health and campus attitudes towards sex rely on other initiatives campus-wide. For example, the Human Sexual Behavior course offered through the psychology department. PSYC 1520 is a class available to students in any degree program and to many, like junior psychology major Penny Metzger, presents one of the greatest resources regarding sexual health on campus. The syllabus for the class covers everything from various types of
contraceptive options, things like condoms and IUDS, to important information about STI contraction and symptoms, as well as more specific insight into the nature of human sexual tendencies. “I think the university could do a
titudes about how they think about sex. UNO’s Student Activities Council provided another opportunity to change people’s outlook on sex in their recent event, Sex Signals. Sex Signals, led by Miranda LeBeau, cultural chair of SAC, used comedy to present topics like consent and initiating in an accessible way. A large part of sexual awareness is consent. The most recent statistics from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center estimate that between 20 and 25 percent of students will be a victim of sexual violence at some point in their collegiate career. This is where campus resources like UNO Women’s Center can be integral for students. Beth Blankenship, director of the Women’s Center, said that helping
“I think the university could do a better job at making it known that resources... are available to students.” - Penny Metzger, Psychology major better job at making it known that resources, especially like this class, are available to students. Talking about sexual taboos and why they exist, in addition to health information, was really helpful for me,” said Metzger. Metzger also said that the ability to ask questions in regards to things like gender identity and sexual orientation helped change people’s at-
provide resources for survivors of sexual assault is one of the most important initiatives at the Women’s Center. “Our main role is to connect students to on-campus and off-campus such as the counseling center here,” Blankenship said. However, sexual assault outreach is far from being the only service offered by the Women’s Center. “Anything from breast exams to tampons to birth control,” said Lauren Burgess, a student worker in the Women’s Center, “You name it and the Women’s Center has a resource on it.” Burgess said that students looking for access to things like contraceptives are common for the office, “We provide ways to get in contact with resources like Planned Parenthood and participating hospitals.” LeBeau and SAC also hosted a forum about Planned Parenthood as a part of their “Cultural Conversations” discussion series.
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