When it comes to sex, some people are free-spirited and others are fucking uninformed. Literally.
In this day and age, with all the sexual promiscuity college life has provided, you would assume that all young men and women would be taking advantage of the little gem of technology formally known as The Condom. The truth of the matter, however, is that some college students are not using a condom every time they have sex.
At some point throughout her experience as a college student, almost every woman will sit with a friend and wait for the result of an “error-proof test.”
At the end of my freshman year here at PSU, I too sat with a friend and waited with her while she contemplated the possibility of pregnancy. I remember hugging her while she cried and shook with nervous fear. The look in her eyes as the tears poured uncontrollably down her cheeks told me how much she was regretting the decision she made to consent to unprotected sex. Sitting with her, I could tell that this was indeed one of her life’s darker moments.
I felt compassion for my friend’s situation, but I could not help feeling superior at the same time. No matter how sad for her I was, I could not, and do not, understand how any self-respecting woman can permit a man to put his (possibly dirty, infected, or contagious) penis into her body without a condom covering it. I would never let someone pressure me into the possibility of getting pregnant or getting a disease. My future is too important.
According to Planned Parenthood statistics, U.S. college students have about a 70 percent chance of contracting or transmitting an infection or STD before they finish their college education. With the knowledge that seven of every ten hot students on the Portland State campus has or will contract an STD within the next four years, how can any intelligent man or woman justify unprotected sex?
A 1999 Consumer Reports study found that the four most reliable condoms on the market are Excita, Ramses, Sheik, and Life Style – each of which are over 98 percent effective if used correctly. You should consider that 98 percent more reassurance and relaxation when you are doing the dirty with some hot student athlete or mysteriously sexy philosophy major.
After an extremely stressful waiting period, my friend found she was not pregnant. She did, however, continue to have unprotected sex. When I asked her why she put herself through the emotional anxiety caused by irresponsible sex habits, she told me that her partner didn’t like condoms and thought they were uncomfortable.
If you ask me, the fact that he did not care enough about her to wear a condom showed a lack of respect and concern for her health. Additionally, the fact that she let him pressure her into doing something that made her uncomfortable and was dangerous to her health showed just how little she respected her own body.
It is important to be reasonably uninhibited and sexually confident. It is also important to maintain your self-worth. Stay protected because, let’s face it, using a condom is way more fun than being abstinent for the next four years.