The Observer, March 31, 2006
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 22
Sex & Dating: STD Alert
At a small school like Case, everything spreads quickly: gossip, colds… and STDs? To date, there has not yet been a widespread outbreak of any STDs on campus. But is it simply a matter of time?
Over the past two years, incoming freshman classes have been comprised of increasing proportions of students who have been exposed to abstinence-only "sex" education. While admirable in its values, right-wing leadership has imposed this impractical strategy onto middle and high schools. This has robbed students of their primary defense against unsafe sexual behavior and resulting risks such as STDs and unplanned pregnancies: knowledge.
If we were to draw a map showing the sexual contact between Case students, chances are it would look like something like John Nash's conspiracy theories in A Beautiful Mind. On a relatively small campus, there are only so many options. In addition, in a small community, people tend to be relatively naïve about the "cleanliness" of their partners. When you add students with limited sex-ed to the mix, these factors create a prime breeding ground (pardon the pun) for an STD outbreak.
What would happen if an STD outbreak were to occur? On a campus where gossip spreads faster than the common cold, who would be brave enough to admit that he or she was infected? Telling one person is virtually guaranteeing that the entire campus will know within a month.
In fact, one small study showed that as few as 50 percent of males who know that they are infected with an STD will choose to disclose this information to past or casual sexual partners. Although this survey was small and took place in France, I doubt anyone will dispute that it would be difficult to contact someone and admit, first, that you yourself have an STD, and, second, that you may have passed it on to him or her.
A very simple solution to this problem is to facilitate a program for anonymous notification of STD exposure, much like the recent program that was enacted in San Francisco. While the risk exists that false notifications may be sent, the potential benefits far outweigh the inconveniences of an "unnecessary" STD test – especially since experts recommend that sexually active persons be tested for STDs every six months anyway.
There are a frightening number of STDs that have few or no symptoms despite leading to grave consequences such as cancer, infertility, or even death. If a victim is not made aware of the fact that he or she was exposed to an STD, he or she may not know until it is too late.
Such a system must be absolutely anonymous and must be accessible to the entire Case community. This would also be a wonderful tool for tracking trends in the campus's sexual health in order to help the clinic to stay in tune with students' needs.
With the amazing minds on this campus who are constantly coming up with new ways to simplify the busy lives of their peers, certainly there are some who share concern for their peers' health, and also the knowledge to create a means to improve it.
