University of Arizona - Desert Yearbook (Tucson, AZ)

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.i v All you can get . . and more Chlamydia, an infection caused by sexually transmit- ted bacteria, was the most prevalent sexually transmitted dis- ease (STD) on campus. However, few students would have been able to have named it as an STD, and far less could have explained or de- fined what it was. While other STDs such as syphillis, gonorrhea, and AIDS received attention, the three most common reported types of STDs on campus did not. Behind chlamydia, in reported cases, were genital warts and genital herpes. And, on the university campus, as well as around the country, re- ported cases of STDs were on the rise. This seemed to contradict the belief that more people are practic- ing safer sex. In a scientific study compiled for Student Health Services in March 1988, 40% of University of Arizona students reported practicing safe sex never, seldom or sometimes. In contrast, 85% of the students reported never or seldom worry- ing about contracting a STD. How- ever, according to Student Health Service ' s Health Educator, Lee Ann Hamilton, this is a common atti- tude of students, as well as the general public. No one thinks it will happen to them, stated Ham- ilton. Until it (STDs) effects them, their partner, family member or close friend they don ' t think about it, and feel they are invincible, she added. And, there were things stu- dents could do to put themselves at lower risk to STDs. Aside from abstaining from sex and avoiding sexual intimacy be- yond mutual masturbation, the only other way to lower your risk was to practice safer sex. These practices included limiting the number of partners with which they entered sexual relations with, and using a condom correctly each and every time. Nevertheless, a survey released from Pima County on the U of A showed that 50% of the students have one sexual part- ner, 35% stated they have 2-5 sexu- al partners; an increase of 15% over the past year. And, of those re- sponding, 27% report never using a condom. Hamilton related it was just a dif- ference between knowledge, atti- tude, and behavior Knowledge — people are very aware that con- doms reduce the risk of STDs. Atti- tude — that ' s great, but I don ' t like the way they feel. Behavior — so, I ' m not going use them because I don ' t need them (it won ' t happen to me). And, until the knowledge begins to directly effect the atti- tude of people, the hope of behav- ior changing is slim. 218 ISSUES

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DEATH PROTECTION 217

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Sex, though we all may not have yet ex- perienced it, is a sub- ject matter which is often thought about in even the most sur- prising of situations. Sex is plastered ev- erywhere. Whether selling a car or dis- cussing the stray fresh feeling, sex can and is often brought up. Discussions of premarital sex or pro- miscuity is found on all talk shows. Re- member, though sex is a private act can effect livelihoods of dozens.