Syracuse University’s Student Association hosted its first free STI screening clinic of the year last week, providing students with an important opportunity to take safe steps in protecting their sexual health and safety.

When it comes to sex, students are typically aware of the risk of pregnancy and use birth control to prevent it. But along the way, many people often forget the serious consequences of sexually transmitted diseases.

One out of two sexually active young adults will contract a sexually transmitted infection by the age of 25, according to the American Sexual Health Association. But most won’t know it. Even though young adults accounted for half of new STI cases, a recent survey showed only about 12 percent were tested for STIs within the last year.

A study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that “the combined total cases of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis in the United States reached an unprecedented high in 2015 — and people age 15 to 24 accounted for a large number of these new cases.”

To help combat STIs at Syracuse, SA’s partnership with Health Services and the Office of Health Promotion will provide four free STIs screening clinics throughout the academic year. The next screenings will be on Thursday, Nov. 8 and Friday, Nov. 9. In the initial announcement email, SA Vice President Kyle Rosenblum said this partnership is critical for students unaware of the risks of sexually transmitted diseases.

“Student Association hopes to promote safe practices and to provide students with free and confidential screenings through this partnership,” he said in the email.

SA’s collaboration behind this initiative is a great first step in providing these types of resources to students to help foster a safer environment in their sexual practices. The initiative also helps break the fears or “taboos” surrounding taking these preventive measures to foster safer sex.

All college students should know that it’s both OK to have sex and to enjoy it. College is the time in which many students are able experience new things with different people, one of them being sex.

Above all else, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Doménica Orellana is a freshman broadcast and digital journalism major. Her column appears weekly in Pulp. She can be reached at dporella@syr.edu.

Editor’s Note: If you are a student who has insurance through Syracuse University, STI screenings are confidential and covered in full at any point throughout the year by appointment. If you have outside insurance, these STI clinics are an important opportunity to take advantage of.

Published on September 25, 2018 at 9:28 pm