University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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The scene is a smoke filled barroom, a lone woman, nursing a gin and tonic, looks up expectantly as a swaggering man makes his way toward her. I ' ve been noticing you sitting here, and I ' d really like to get to know you better, much better. Maybe, if you ' re lucky, she says coyly as she smiles up at him. After a couple of hours of small talk, she finishes her drink, picks up her purse and follows him out the bar door into the neon-lit street. Is this a clip out of Saturday Night Fever a memory of the glory days of disco, of the Me generation, of polyester and gold me- dallions. It could not be 1988, not with the massive Safe Sex and AIDS campaigns. Yet, student interviews and Health Center statistics showed students participating in safe sex tech- niques was a modern myth. The days of Free Love were over, but safe and responsible sex practices had not yet found their way to UT. Most students were aware of the sexual malices. Their education began at childhood; they formed sexual attitudes in the days when herpes was as bad as it got. Now not only did students have to deal with communicable mala- dies such as syphillis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, in addition to pregnancy, there was something that could kill. During 1988, society ' s misconception was that the conservative trend was making people more responsible. Marriage and monogamy were back in full swing, and the sexual ex- perimentation of the 60 ' s was no longer in vogue. Yet, it seemed that most University heterosexual students had not changed their behavior accordingly. According to the Health Center, most of the changes in sexual behavior occurred within the male homosexual population primarily because they were the group with the largest number of AIDS cases. Dave, liberal arts senior, was a former ho- mosexual. He altered his sexual conduct because there was a question in his mind as to whether he had contracted AIDS. I ' m not intimate Jeff Hod I FRIENDLY, BUT CAREFUL: Curtis Croshaw, finance junior, attempts to make a good first impression on his new I acquaintance, Deborah Ing, advertising junior. with anyone now because even though I tested negative, there is still a slim possibility I can infect another person. But what needed to happen before hetero- sexual behavior was modified? Rising numbers of heterosexuals with AIDS and personal contact with an AIDS victim are the two most realistic factors that would do it, Scott Spear, Health Center physician, said. When asked if their sexual behavior had changed due to recent Safe Sex campaigns, an alarming 90% of those interviewed said they had not undergone any modifications. Monogamy was not popular among students. Peggy, marketing senior, gave a typical answer. I usually have frequent partners interrupted by periods of monogamy, she said. John, finance junior, also was intimate with several partners. It ' s kind of worrisome, think- ing of all the implications you can ' t ignore what ' s out there. It could be a fatal mistake. While this was not alarming, the percentage of condomless intimacy was. Based on student interviews, a prophylactic was only used in 15- 20% of all liaisons. Purchasing these contra- ceptives made females embarrassed and un- comfortable, while males thought there was nothing wrong with the concept of females handling that detail. The Student Health Center ' s statistics mir- rored the view that UT students were not af- fected by the Safe Sex trend. During the fall semester, hundreds of tests were run for sexually transmitted diseases (STD ' s). In addition, most students did not know that the Health Center could test for AIDS. A test (costing $17) could detect the HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Vi- rus) antibodies which show up when the AIDS virus is present. If the results were positive, the ELISSA test, a much more specific screen, was administered. Costing about $77, the ELISSA could tell with certainty if it was actually HIV and not a random virus. Two STD ' s which increased significantly in frequency were genital warts and chlamydia. According to the Health Center, there was a sudden surge in the number of warts cases, as was true with chlamydia. Sherry Bell, of the UT 24 Sexual Evolution

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y J ' McHALLOWEEN: Austin resident, Pete Hausmann peers through his Mac Tonight costume while working his way through the mob on 6th Street. MID- NIGHT RUSH HOUR: Packing the streets, over 100,000 people parade down 6th Street. This ' ghoulish ' once-a- year occasion has grown into a full- blown Austin Tradition. IMPROVE YOUR IMAGE: Halloween brings out the ' worst ' in people as in this case of a devilishly handsome goblin. Students spent many hours and dollars to create original entertaining costumes. , Halloween 23

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.:JM : IT ..... Ji dm fa ' HE BIRDS AND THE BEES..AND THE SQUIRREL: With a friendly rodent chaperoning, Brenda Cardenas, ology junior, and boyfriend Haracio Lau, electrical engineering senior.-share some time together between classes. Health Education Office, said, It ' s the most widespread STD and since there are no real detectable symptoms for chlamydia, 80% of women can ' t tell they have it. Over the fall semester, UT ran 1,295 tests. Roughly 12.7% of the students received positive results, which was an increase from the previous semester. While there was an obvious lack of students practicing safe sex, various organizations worked to combat this dilemma. Internationally, the World Health Organization held a global sum- mit in the spring of 1988 to combat the spread of AIDS. This summit was the first of its kind and many in the health services community applauded the symposium as the medical es- tablishment finally recognizing the seriousness of the disease. No longer was it that ho- mosexual disease . Various telephone hotlines, both national and local, helped to clear up AIDS confusion. The Health Center was also a valuable source of information for students and faculty. Mul- tiple programs such as Noon Talks, AIDS work- shops for UT personnel, Resident Advisor train- ing, newsletters in student grade reports and personal counseling all confronted sexual ques- tions and combated ignorance by teaching safe sex behaviors. Bell defined UT ' s objective. We need to remove the barriers either through education or other means (such as availability of con- doms), so safe sex practices are as easy as pos- sible for students to achieve. While UT students were immersed in sexual information, many failed to make use of it, choosing instead to continue in their reckless habits. Through the programs of the Health Center and media information, it could only be hoped that students would eventually realize the importance of Safe Sex. I by Theresa Fronting Sexual Evolution 25