BY RACHEL BOZEK, GRADUATE, JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY

As if sex wasn�t complicated enough, sexually active students have a lot to consider when it comes to birth control and protection from sexually transmitted infections (STIs). So much information about prevention has been published that sometimes it�s hard to know where to start when you�re looking for the basics.

The primary types of birth control are hormonal (such as the birth control pill), barrier (such as male and female condoms), and intrauterine devices (better known as IUDs). When considering which type of contraception is right for you, it�s important to know which methods protect against STIs and learn what you will need to do to protect yourself from STIs if your chosen contraceptive does not offer this protection.

Common Misconceptions
According to a recent Student Health 101 poll of 375 students, about 90% consider themselves knowledgeable when it comes to birth control and STI protection. However, many inaccurate impressions still pervade college campuses.

Brittany Burns, a senior at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, observes a common misconception among college students. �[People] may think that just because they are taking birth control pills, they�re also protected from STIs when really they�re not,� she says.

Cannie Campbell, health center director at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, confirms this sentiment. �I�m always amazed at students who think, �Oh, I�m on the pill, so it protects me from STIs,�� Campbell says. �So when I teach, I�m very clear that you have to have a barrier method to have protection from STIs. Hormonal types of birth control do not provide that.�

Talk It Up
Students, whether heterosexual or gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (GLBT), who are involved in sexual relationships often don�t know for certain that their partners are free and clear of STIs.
Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, president of the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association, points out that many students just don�t think the risk applies to them. �[They think] they can tell by the way their partner looks, or what their partner says, that they�re unlikely to get infected, or that because their partner looks �normal� or doesn�t have any apparent problems, that there�s nothing wrong,� she says, �and that�s really a major misconception.�

Marrazzo points to chlamydia as being particularly problematic because it�s so difficult to detect. Yet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chlamydia is the most widely reported bacterial STI in the United States. �It doesn�t cause any signs or symptoms in 9 out of 10 women who have it,� she says. About half of the men infected also show no symptoms.

If and when you decide to have sex, communication with your partner is key. Campbell says that if you�re getting into a heterosexual relationship and you want to go to the next step where you�re only going to use a hormonal plan, you might want to go in together and get tested at your health center or local public health department. The same applies to GLBT partners who want to stop using protection. �We have students here who come in and do their �reveal� together, so there�s no question or mystery,� Campbell says.

The Doctor Is In
Campus health centers are among the best resources when it comes to sexual health. �We are certified doctors and nurses, and we�re very qualified to work with this population,� Campbell explains. �We deal with sex, we deal with alcohol, we deal with anxiety. We deal with the things that college students deal with.�

Students are sometimes hesitant to utilize their campus health center for fear that the school might contact their parents. �As long as you�re 18, your medical records are confidential,� says Campbell. �We don�t tell your parents anything unless you want us to.� Marrazzo, who is also a medical director at the Seattle STD/HIV Prevention Training Center, points to campus health centers as a great place for students to get an objective opinion when it comes to STI prevention. �Most college health centers are very good, and the healthcare providers are very skilled at nonjudgmentally and thoroughly discussing these infections and how to protect [yourself] from them,� she says.

These facilities often provide free or discounted condoms, and students are generally aware of this. Beyond abstinence, the barrier method is widely considered the most reliable way to go for protection against STIs. However, it�s not necessarily the safest protection against pregnancy. �It�s still important to have a reliable continuous method of protection against pregnancy,� Marrazzo says, �and that�s basically a hormonal or an IUD method.�

For info on the most trusted types of birth control methods, including those that also protect against STIs, CLICK HERE.

Telling It Like It Is
According to the American Social Health Association, about half of all sexually active individuals will contract an STI by the age of 25. Ari Reiter, a senior at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has worked in safer sex and health outreach since she was 15 and spent this past summer as a research assistant at Fenway Health in Boston, Massachusetts. Fenway Health provides access to healthcare, advocacy, and several other resources to the GLBT community; however, Reiter offers advice anyone can follow: �Unless you are having your pockets emptied by your grandparents at the Thanksgiving table, you will probably never say, �I wish I didn�t have a condom right now.��

RACHEL BOZEK IS A NEW JERSEY-BASED FREELANCE WRITER AND EDITOR AND A GRADUATE OF JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY IN HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA.

GLBT Community Resources
For information specifically for the GLBT community on STIs, VISIT the following resources:

- GLBT National Help Center: http://www.glbtnationalhelpcenter.org/index2.html
- Safer Sex Resources from Fenway Health: http://www.fenwayhealth.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FCHC_res_resources_download
- LGBT Health from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/

WAIT A MINUTE!
Check out these common misconceptions when it comes to birth control and STI prevention.

For a list of questions you should ask before starting a sexual relationship, CLICK HERE.

CLICK on the following websites for specific information on STI protection and how it applies to you.

• The American STD Association: http://depts.washington.edu/astda/
• Go Ask Alice! (section about sexual health): http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/Cat7.html
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/STD/
• Womenshealth.gov FAQ about STIs: http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/sexually-transmitted-infections.cfm

STUDENTVIEWS
Lucy Smith at West Chester University shares her tips for staying safe when sexually active.
Hi! My name is Lucy Marie Smith, and I�m a senior at Westchester University, and I�ll be talking to you about safe sex.

Alright! So, to get started, I�ve been sexually active for about a year, maybe, a year or two, and I find that most the most important thing if you�re planning on being on being sexually active or not, every day, is to take birth control and any oral supplements you might take. In my case, it is the pill. Every morning, after my allergy meds, I take a birth control pill in the little packet and, uh, along with that I keep plenty of these, condoms! They�re very, very important in protecting you and your partner against sexually transmitted diseases and infections. They can be transmitted; almost anything can be transmitted skin-to-skin.

Another thing to use is lube, which eliminates friction and is very important, you know, if you don�t want to get hurt with all the pounding and rubbing and anything else you might encounter.

I think, however, that most kids lack sufficient knowledge about emotional and mental health issues concerning sex. One of the big points that I want to touch on is there should always be consent between both or all parties involved. You never want to have a situation where someone is even slightly reluctant to participate because then it�s just opening a can of worms in terms of emotional problems, and you don�t want to have that. Sex is fun, it is a way to express intimacy and affection, it really shouldn�t be more complicated than that.

But yeah, that�s it, basically. Here at Westchester, we go to the Student Health and Wellness Center, which is located in Wayne hall on Rosedale Avenue, and that is where we get free condoms. And, also the Women�s Center in Laurence Hall occasionally gives out free items. So yeah, that�s my spiel and I hope you enjoyed it.