As the years progress, more and more young adults are becoming infected with sexually transmitted diseases.
Because of the massive mix of cultures and races in college towns, young adults living in these areas run a higher risk of contracting STDs.
Students come from all over the world to attend Florida A&M University, but some allow sex to get in the way of their goals while at school.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, Florida reported 96, 712 AIDS cases through the year 2004. That is just the number of people who got tested, so there is no telling how many people are walking around infected and don’t know it.
Some students are already infected with a STD prior to attending college and unknowingly transport diseases from one place to another. Especially when they engage in unprotected sex; they undoubtedly start a continuous cycle of infecting others.
According to Choices, an online magazine, at least one out of three sexually active people would have contracted an STD by age 24.
Despite the statistics, it is never too late to change the lives of college students, but the change must start within oneself.
Female students hold the power to say yes or no, yet they sometimes feel that sex is the only way to keep a man’s attention. Believe it or not, some use this to trap men. That method of keeping a man skyrockets the chances of spreading a STD to other peers.
Males also play a major role in unprotected sex. Men usually have condoms, but often times they refuse to wear them, stating that the feeling is less pleasurable.
Now I am not excluding the responsibility of women, because it is partially their priority to be prepared at all times. I am simply implying that college students must be smarter about their sexual encounters.
The sexual behavior of college students contributes to the high STD rates of young people in college towns. The pressure to be accepted in certain crowds causes some students to feel as if they need to have multiple sexual partners.
The image that students receive from their peers makes some think that being a “player” or “playette” is acceptable, while dismissing the danger of it.
Some college students don’t consider STDs deadly, so they won’t acknowledge them because they feel they are invincible, thus becoming a threat to their partners or offspring.
If students took advantage of the health care knowledge their campus has to offer, a lot of the negative statistics based on college towns would decrease.
Letitia Williams is a third-year biology student from Cocoa. She can be reached at famuanopinions@hotmail.com.