Zoey Freedman: UCLA should raise awareness of STIs, sexual health

Graduating from college typically means walking away with a degree and a diploma, but at this point it could mean walking away with a sexually transmitted infection as well.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people between the ages of 15 and 24 years old account for half of the almost 20 million new sexually transmitted infection cases each year, even though this age group only accounts for one-fourth of sexually active people.

College students make up a significant portion of this disproportionately infected age group. The number of new cases of STIs each year is shared almost equally between the sexes, with 49 percent of STIs occurring among young men and 51 percent of STIs occurring among young women.

Given the widespread nature of this dilemma for college students, more action is needed. The most effective way to tackle the issue is to implement a sexual health workshop at UCLA new student orientations. This programming, much like the sexual assault and mental health workshops, would serve to introduce new Bruins to the services the Ashe Center has to offer, as well as to stress the importance of getting tested. Additionally, these efforts would diminish the stigma that surrounds the process of getting tested.

Workshops should utilize informational slideshows that highlight common symptoms of the most prevalent STIs amongst college-aged students, like chlamydia and gonorrhea, accompanied by photographs of physical symptoms. These presentations could be supplemented with statistics of the disproportionate infection of young people and the negative short-term and long-term impacts of STIs, as well as an overview of all of the Ashe Center’s health services.

Sexual health is just as important as mental health, which tends to be a topic frequently addressed at orientation along with the topic of sexual assault. Aside from information on how to properly use a condom, the lack of programming targeted at maintaining sexual health is an indicator of a prevalent issue that is being overlooked.

For example, UCLA’s Ashe Center provides STI testing, as well as STI treatment, but lacks prominent advertising and educational tools, like flyers, sandwich boards on Bruin Walk or brief informational sessions on how to identify symptoms and the consequences of going unchecked, which would serve as the warning students need.

These workshops and campaigns should not only focus on the immediate effects of STIs but also the long-term. In young women, when left untreated, STIs like chlamydia and gonorrhea can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease and eventually result in infertility. Although these health risks may not seem pressing to a college student, they will later. And they could have easily been prevented with a simple screening and treatment.

And men aren’t off the hook either: Young men, aged 20 to 24 years old, have the highest levels of gonorrhea and fourth highest rates of syphilis. Oftentimes many people don’t get STI tested because STIs can be asymptomatic, meaning there are no apparent symptoms, and if left untreated, can result in long-term illnesses that could have been prevented if treated early, said Salina Smith, spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

STI education and awareness needs to continue beyond orientation and throughout our college careers in order to maintain the prevalence it needs. The Ashe Center can partner with the Student Wellness Commission to work with the Get Yourself Tested campaign, particularly during the month of April, STD Awareness Month, to reach out to all students at UCLA, not just new Bruins. Working together, the groups can flyer on Bruin Walk, host informational sessions and provide health tips at stations like the ones used for flu vaccinations during flu season.

An STI campaign would also give students easy and embarrassment-free access to educational resources that could help foster a comfortable environment and open-mindedness when it comes to getting screened for STIs. A campaign like this would encourage students to get tested and serve as the first step in breaking the cycle of contraction of STIs among young people.

Prioritizing sexual health and taking proactive steps to stop the spread of STIs can ensure that students are ending their tenures at UCLA with degrees, not sexually transmitted infections.