"Have a safer weekend!" I say, handing a Boston College student a quarter-sheet of sexual health information, including the importance of sexually transmitted infections (STI) testing, with a condom attached to it. It's noon and BC Students for Sexual Health (SSH) have already managed to hand out 1,000 condoms in just two hours on the sidewalks of College Road outside of McElroy. Students walk by on this busy Friday morning, taking protective prophylactics from the BC SSH volunteers. Due to BC policy, we are forced to provide such necessary information and resources off-campus, in this case on the public sidewalks of the City of Newton, where such distributions are legally protected.
Most students who pass by are very supportive and recognize that sexual health resources are lacking on BC's campus. Some disagree that there should be appropriate resources and education freely available on a college campus for students who choose to engage in sexual activity; but as evidence shows, comprehensive sex education is not only most effective at protecting students against STIs, but it is also more effective at delaying sex than abstinence-only education. For just as an umbrella doesn't cause rain, providing condoms and information does not encourage or promote sex.
Knowing that two-thirds of all STI cases occur in people under the age of 25 and that at least one-half of all new HIV infections are estimated to be among those under the age of 25 motivates me to protect the health of my community. So, checking my watch, I catch the B-line into Boston to teach in a public high school with other BC volunteers. As part of a comprehensive health curriculum, my specific workshop is focused on STIs and HIV and ways to prevent their transmission. While we stress that abstinence is the most effective way to prevent the transmission of most STIs, we also understand the importance of advocating for teenagers who choose to be sexually active to protect against STIs. One in four Boston ninth graders has engaged in sex, so it is vitally important that they receive this information. Working with these students is incredibly rewarding.
After teaching my workshop, I always find it astounding to return to BC's campus and find a similar lack of education and resources available to BC students. The minimal amount of information on the University Health Services' Web site and the lack of a health educator on campus are causes for concern, as is the high cost of STI testing. Even university-sponsored conversations about sexuality on this campus were largely absent before the Sexual Health Referendum was passed last spring, despite the fact that BC is a Jesuit university founded on the fundamental values of dialogue and a well-rounded education.
Back on campus, I met with the chair of the Health and Wellness Committee, which was instituted by Student Affairs in response to the referendum, in order to assess the state of health on campus and provide a detailed and comprehensive plan for health promotion (including sexual health) at BC. In addition, as the vice president of the UGBC Senate, I serve as the chair of the Select Committee on Sexual Health responsible for researching what other Jesuit Catholic universities are currently providing to their students. This research will allow us to compile a list of recommendations for ways in which BC can improve its services, following precedents set by other Jesuit universities.
Last spring, I worked closely with many administrators to determine how the University could respond to the needs of the students following the referendum. After two very successful events last year which began the dialogue on sexuality and spirituality, BC SSH is moving the conversation forward this year with more planned events. I am thankful the referendum was a catalyst for the university to finally become engaged with the topics of sexuality and sexual health.
But sexual health is not something I fight for just at BC. I have also been engaged with sexual heath topics in Africa, where I have spent the past three summers. I worked in clinics in Ghana testing people for HIV/AIDS and in Kenya designing an HIV/AIDS education program for a micro-finance organization. Sexual health is also important at the policy level in Washington, D.C., where earlier this semester, I visited the offices of my representatives to encourage their support of the Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act, which would provide federal funding for comprehensive sex education in public schools. While these experiences may seem worlds apart, they are all connected in the greater struggle for justice. In witnessing firsthand the impact of HIV/AIDS on a community in Africa, I can now appreciate the gravity of the startling fact that Washington, D.C. has a higher rate of HIV/AIDS infection than in all of West Africa.
I am proud of what BC SSH has been able to accomplish thus far and the voice it gives to the growing student concern over the lack of sexual health education and resources on campus, but much work still needs to be done. This year, BC received one of the lowest rankings on Trojan's Sexual Health Report Card for American universities. This is unacceptable for a highly ranked university.
It is my love for BC and my desire to serve my fellow students that motivates me to be an active sexual health advocate working to promote positive change on the Heights.
Be the first to comment on this article!