CU is making progress in its promotion of safe sex and has been ranked as one of the leading universities in sexual health.
In Trojan Brand Condom’s 2011 Sexual Health Report, CU was ranked No. 56 out of 141 in the sexually healthiest colleges across the US. CU has continued to move upward on the list and made significant progress this year after being listed at No. 75 last year.
Bert Sperling, president of Sperling’s Best Places, and the lead researcher for Trojan’s Sexual Health Report, said that the report is an efficient way to get students around the country to practice and promote safe sex.
“We are very excited to do this report,” Sperling said. “We know that the report card encourages students to demand better services
(Courtesy of the Georgetown Voice)
from their health centers and we are happy to help the kids reach that stage.”
Trojan’s initiative to promote safe sex and inform college students about how to protect themselves has been an ongoing process since 2006, when the report card was initially launched, Sperling said.
The ranking evaluation takes several factors into account, including the availability of information to students, HIV and STD testing and cost, functionality of the health center’s website, and the health center’s hours of operation.
Wardenburg Health Center offers free and anonymous HIV testing as well as health education and counseling. All this information is located on the center’s website: http://healthcenter.colorado.edu/.
Nick Trevino, a 20-year-old junior political science and history major, is a residential adviser (RA) in Stearns East in Williams Village. He said that RA’s are given a bag of condoms to give out to the residents on their floor in the beginning of each school year.
“The improvement shows that our university has taken the initiative to promote safe sex,” Trevino said. “Condom dispensers were also set up recently in bathrooms making protection even more accessible.”
Two other universities in Colorado made substantial progress in the rankings this year. The University of Denver went from a spot at No. 74 to 31 and Colorado State University moved up from No. 64 to 7.
Gwen Sieving, a general professional at CSU’s Hartshorn Health Center said that the center has been making an effort to increase the information available both around campus and on the center’s website.
“We have taken steps toward increasing peer education presentations,” Sieving said. “We want the information presented to be relatable and accessible to our students by having them educating each other.”
Simon Czamanski, a 21-year-old senior majoring in Equine Science at CSU, said he believes that his school has made a tremendous improvement in informing its students about the dangers of unprotected sex.
“When I arrived to the dorms freshman year, there were posters all around saying that one in every four people had an STD,” Czamanski said. “I think the student body has become more aware of STDs and therefore have begun to take more precautions.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Mariana Tomassi at Mariana.tomassi@colorado.edu.
