Students entering college often have many different things occupying their minds, ranging from classes to making friends.
According to a study by Mark Bearak at New York University, however, students might want to consider educating themselves about the potential dangers of unprotected sex.
Bearak’s study found that nine percent of female college students surveyed reported engaging in unprotected sex during their freshman year. This figure rises by seven percentage points to 16 percent who reported having done so by their senior year, marking nearly a twofold increase over four years. Similarly, male students reported a six percent unprotected encounter rate in their freshman year, compared with 15 percent in their senior year.
This large increase might be attributed to the casual culture of college. Bearak said that college students cannot easily be subdivided into distinct groups that do or do not practice casual sex.
“Among freshmen, more students have hooked up than have gone out on dates,” Bearak said.
Despite the common presence of such a mindset, having sex without using some form of protection leaves both involved parties in danger of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. According to the CDC, Chlamydia is the most frequently reported STD in the United States. It is often referred to as a “silent” disease, as symptoms are usually mild or absent, meaning that complications can “silently” cause irreversible damage, such as infertility, before the patient recognizes a problem.
Tennessee was ranked 11th in the United States in 2010 in reported cases of STD’s. UTM’s Student Health and Counseling began placing condoms and additional information on safe sex in their facility in 2012 to decrease the number of cases at the school. In addition, suggested solutions include allowing PEP leaders to teach safe sex education in General Studies classes.
