Romance and Sexuality on College Campuses by Elizabeth Roden

College students are having sex more often than not. A recent survey says that 86% of college students have multiple sex partners during their time at college. Another 10% say they have had more than 15 sexual partners in college. With multiple sexual interactions between students, there is a growing concern for the STD rate. With less than 44% of students using condoms, the STD rate in college is high and only growing larger.[1] There must be a strong sense of hope in students who don't wear condoms to believe that something as serious as an STD couldn't happen to them. In fact, every one and four college students has an STD. Not all STDs are symptomatic, so it is unreasonable to believe that one can tell if their partner has an STD just by scoping it out. Also, someone who does not have symptoms for an STD is unlikely to go get checked by their doctor. Therefore, not receiving treatment for it, and likely transmitting the disease to their partner. Also, people are more likely to forget to use contraceptive aids after a night of binge drinking. Subtract that number from the 44% who regularly use condoms, and the number of sexually active people using protection diminishes drastically. STDs are common among college students especially. When there is a large number of members of the opposite sex in a given area, add in alcohol, and subtract protection, the result of receiving an STD is a likely outcome.[2]

College is known for the time to experiment. For young women, this is especially true. Women are more likely to experiment in college than men are because it is more socially acceptable for a woman to kiss a woman. While in a party scene, it is even encouraged. In a recent survey, teenage girls said that it is much more acceptable in an academic setting, and more openly talked about among females. Males, on the other hand, are openly discriminated against if there is talk about same sex encounters. Times have changed from a decade ago. The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics say that 14% of women in college have experienced lesbianism. A decade earlier, the numbers came out to only 4%. Only 6% of men have experienced a same sex encounter in recent surveys, and the number is naturally smaller from years ago. In today's world, it is more of a trend to experiment with lesbianism among females, instead of it being a means for genuine curiosity. [3]

Citations

[1]Google. How Much Sex Are College Students Really Having? Discovery News. Rogell, Eric. April 24, 2012. Website. http://news.discovery.com/human/life/how-much-sex-are-college-students-really-having-survey-says.htm

[2]Google. Shocking Facts about STDs in College. Elite Daily. Waters, Preston. April 17, 2012. Website. http://elitedaily.com/dating/sex/10-shocking-facts-stds-college/

[3]Google. Survey Finds More Women Experiment With Bisexuality. N.A. The Associated Press. September 15, 2005. Website. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-09-15- womenbisexuality_x.htm