University of Arizona - Desert Yearbook (Tucson, AZ)

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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.

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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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v N P ' V -V % Comic Strip Ronald-Ann went through the doorway to Outland and that was the end of the fictitional world commonly known as Bloom County . After more than 10 years of drawing the Pulitzer prize winning strip featuring Rosebud, the basselope. Bill the Cat, and Opus, the oft-confused waterfowl, creator Berkeley Breathed decided to bring his world of political and social com- mentary to a premature end. It was Breatheds feel- ing he did not want Bloom County to be- come boring and mundane over time, but rather go out with all the wit and social reflection it became famous for portraying. Americans were in an up- roar over this choice. Let- ter campaigns and groups were formed to protest Breathed ' s desision in an attempt to change his mind. However, the cam- paigns fell against deaf ears, as the decision was final and would not be changed. The loss of an American idol was at the forefront of everyone ' s mind, as the thought of Opus the pen- guin entering limbo, nev- er to be heard again. How- ever, new hope was re- stored as Breathed announced he would pro- duce a Sunday only strip, Outland , which would include one cast member from Bloom County . It seemed as if Opus would have a permanent home as Bloom County inched ever closer to its last strip. All characters had left the strip, with exception of Opus and a small black girl named after former presi- dent Ronald Reagan. Ronald-Ann attempted to bring Opus in to Out- land which was a fantasy world in which Ronald- Ann fled to escape the hor- rors of the real world. But, much to public dismay Opus may still not remain just a memory on faded t-shirts of Americans ev- erywhere. Breathed said he has not ruled out the possibility of Opus mak- ing an appearance in Out- land . With Outland Breathed hoped to take a more polit- ical stance than he showed previously in Bloom County by viewing the world from Ronald-Ann ' s perspective. The perspec- tive of Ronald-Ann may prove to be the voice of the 90 ' s as Bloom County was the voice of the 80 ' s. Whatever the future of Outland may be, for those of us who read Bloom County and shared in the characters ' misadventures will re- member it as the most pro- lific, most integral, and most memorable comic strip to grace the news- paper as it fades from the social scene with the turn- ing of a decade. — Patrick Fenimore l jAir... LBT 1 5 GU 55... YWm oermo aeAfjep t p w Meer VOUR Fi rURe IN-MW6 ML you ' Re fi LtTTie NeRvou6 mNOT To we or Ffrs... ' mi ( Bloom County THjRjm The tAuemiA ih rr tm MP FOif L H VB 50U0HT f HP 5NAReP WfVei , A TB OF miK woRjHmse has ...A fmt Of Quftuvf (mr J5 ONE WOULP 5NIFF PUPh FISH 5eF0ReflmN(} rr we SOUP. m IU0 ' I oermm i y folks mpi emMiNi TB. LOiAJheyPO KNOW eMaPt i i H (r we ' Re oewf e FOR fi SON-ltJ-UW, COfiGKATS. m (£poQGe WLL Be OH. TM OUR SOH IPPY, mJMti R. 6IR ifjea, I TOLP weM wcA mFROMwe se ...AHPTmr ' m ' RE eAsiLY uFser. n M FKOMWi .N OCSM. iLi-TeMpe I yeAH...yeA BREAK The MP H 6 wweorneR HOPFFULS. meRB ' s ®wvi f oseevpf HIS SPFifVt ftsmm