“STDS ARE SCARY” Offers Free Testing to Students

Even with more openness in society to discussions of sex and sexual issues, some students may still afraid to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases because they don’t want their parents to find out. This is why the ACE and the Equity Office (Title IX/VI) sponsored last week’s STD Testing Clinic titled “STD’s are Scary” to coincide with Halloween.

The testing at the clinic was both free and confidential. Title IX Coordinator, Lori Ferguson, said “the cost to have it done in a clinic is outrageous…A lot of people are asymptomatic, so you might not know you have an STD.”

The Equity Office, along with the help of its peer educators, decided that Halloween was a prime time to hold the clinic. “We thought with Halloween… there would be parties, because it’s a big holiday and people celebrate it” Ferguson said. “Plus, then we could have theme.”

The clinic gave out condoms with stickers that showed different monsters, one with a skeleton that said “Let’s Bone” and one with Frankenstein that said “Lets Get Freaky.”

The clinic is also helpful to students who are on their parent’s insurance, but don’t want their parents to know that they are even concerned about having an STD. “When I was in college,” Ferguson said. “I wouldn’t have wanted my parents to find out.”

If you weren’t able to make it to the STD’s Are Scary Clinic, the Equity Office hopes to hold more events throughout the year, hopefully once a month. If you have questions about sexual health, feel free to reach out to Lori Ferguson or the Student Health Center.

Jacob Duncan - Staff Writer