Trojan: Pitt slipping in sexual health rankings

‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt can’t’ seem to get it up. ‘ ‘ ‘ Its sexual health ranking, that is. ‘ ‘ ‘ A… ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt can’t’ seem to get it up. ‘ ‘ ‘ Its sexual health ranking, that is. ‘ ‘ ‘ A Trojan study indicates that Pitt’s campus needs to improve its sexual health. ‘ ‘ ‘ The company’s annual Sexual Health Report Card, now in its third year, ranked Pitt 73 among the 139 universities studied. Pitt has declined in the rankings in every year since the study’s founding. ‘ ‘ ‘ Sperling’s BestPlaces, an independent research firm, conducted the report, which looked at 13 categories pertaining to sexual health, including students’ opinion of the health center, existence of a separate awareness program, availability of free condoms and contraceptives, availability of HIV and STD testing, outreach programs and sexual assault programs to determine the rankings. ‘ ‘ ‘ Bert Sperling, president of Sperling’s BestPlaces, said the study didn’t look at reported cases of STDs on campus, instead looking only at the availability of educational materials. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The more information students have, the better they are able to make their own decision,’ he said. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt received a 2.8 score on a 4.0 grading scale. In the rankings, Pitt placed 59 spots behind Penn State University, which was 14th. University of Pennsylvania placed 21st, and West Virginia University ranked 7th. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt’s Student Health Service offers one free HIV test and one free STD test per year. The pharmacy sells 12-packs of condoms for between $3 and $7.40, depending on preference. ‘ ‘ ‘ The University’s Office of Health Education and Promotion runs sexual health services. Jaime Sidani, the health educator and coordinator for the peer education group PantherWELL, administers HIV tests and meets with students who have questions about sexual health. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Here at Student Health, we are always trying to improve all of our programs and services to give the University of Pittsburgh students the best experience they can have,’ Sidani said in an e-mail. ‘ ‘ ‘ PantherWELL also circulates information about sexual health. They set up tables with information and free condoms and also hold programs, such as Sex in the Lounge, in residence halls. ‘ ‘ ‘ Sex in the Lounge provides educational materials, free condoms and lubricants to students. ‘ ‘ ‘ Unlike some other schools, Pitt doesn’t normally hand out free condoms or birth control. Both factors affected its rating. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Students do have access to free condoms through Student Health, but we do not hand them out for free in mass quantities,’ said Sidani. ‘There are a lot of other things that go along with being sexually healthy than just having access to free condoms ‘hellip; that should be focused on as well. Condoms are just one aspect of sexual health.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Sidani said it is sexually healthy to get STD tests, communicate with partners and learn to use birth control correctly, if choosing to use it. ‘ ‘ ‘ Penn State University, which always provides free condoms to students, ranked 14th with a score of 3.35. Linda LaSalle, associate director of educational services for the university, said the school ranked high because its sexual health programs are prominent on campus. ‘ ‘ ‘ The HIV/AIDS Risk Reduction Advisory Council, a student health education group at PSU, sets up a table once a week in the student union where it provides information and hands out free condoms. Free condoms are also available in the University Health Services office, said LaSalle. ‘ ‘ ‘ PSU’s University Health Services also runs a social marketing print campaign, which consists of informational posters and postcards spread around campus. ‘ ‘ ‘ Sidani said Pitt’s Student Health Service runs ads in The Pitt News and advertises its services on its Web site. It gives information to students during clinic appointments and through PantherWELL. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I’m sure we can always look into advertising them a bit more,’ said Sidani. ‘ ‘ ‘ Despite PantherWELL’s efforts to get sexual health information out to students, many remain unaware of the services available to them. ‘ ‘ ‘ Freshman Jaimie Szuhay said she hasn’t seen much information around campus. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘You can’t find very much [information]. They don’t advertise,’ she said. ‘ ‘ ‘ Freshman Hannah Gilbert agreed. ‘We need a campus-wide day devoted to safe sex,’ she said. ‘ ‘ ‘ Other students said that they knew about the services but that they felt that students didn’t use them fully. ‘I think a lot of people don’t care,’ said junior Emily Rastatter. ‘ ‘ ‘ Trojan’s Sexual Health Report Card did not take into account efforts of student organizations and residence hall programs promoting safer sex. ‘ ‘ ‘ Melissa Warthen, assistant director of Residence Life, said that the organization does its best to make wellness information, including sexual health information, available to students living in residence halls. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘As of right now, half of our residence halls have initiated sexual health programs,’ said Warthen. She said 50 to 75 students attend them on average. ‘ ‘ ‘ Resident assistants are responsible for proposing programs to ResLife, RA Richard Barnhart said, and ResLife must approve them. Many RAs propose sexual health programs, and ResLife partners them with PantherWELL and Student Health. RAs can request that a peer educator helps them with their program. ‘ ‘ ‘ Student-run organizations such as Rainbow Alliance, Campus Women’s Organization and the Student Global AIDS Project also make an effort to put sexual health information in the hands of students. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Pitt offers fairly decent sexual health services through Student Health,’ said Rainbow Alliance vice president Kelly Coburn, ‘but I don’t think enough students know about them.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ The organization gives out free condoms, dental dams and lube and holds a safe sex workshop with the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force every semester. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It is a very important part of our purpose to advocate safer sex practices and educate members of the Pitt community about how to protect themselves,’ said Coburn.