College Sex

    Let’s be frank: The topic of sex lost its taboo the moment we set our bags down in the tiny triples and our RAs handed us a fistful of condoms. Even if only one-fourth of the confessions on the “UCSD Confessions” Facebook page are true, there’s plenty of it going on. And while youth is certainly as good a time as ever to go “exploring,” we can only hope the not-so-innocent fun doesn’t end up being the cause of any long-term inconveniences — not when Student Health Services offers a long list of resources at little-to-no cost for students.

    UCSD’s Student Health Services stands on a hill right off of Library Walk, and the old-looking wooden building is easy to ignore. But upon walking in, one notices that the inside is a labyrinth of corridors and rooms with health care providers, a pharmacy desk and cubicles closed off to ensure privacy for sheepish students as they talk to professionals about their health concerns.

    Erica Okamura, who has served as a peer health education coordinator since 2009, explains the purpose of the Sexual Health subset of Student Health Services.

    “We want to provide students with information that they can use or information they let their friends know to practice safer sex,” Okamura said. “Even if a student is abstinent, we want to provide information that they can use later on if they decide to be sexually active.”

    Student Health Services also employs the help of student volunteers, or Student Health Advocates, who are trained extensively on birth control methods, sexually transmitted infections and safer sex, to disseminate information and educate peers. The center itself also offers free information sessions that students can attend without an appointment, in the clinic itself and occasionally in The Zone.

    Okamura says she would like to see the sessions utilized more.

    “We would definitely love to see more students coming into our sexual health sessions,” Okamura said. “It’s a really good comprehensive review of what you need to know about safer sex and birth control.”

    For many students, the most pressing concern when seeking birth control or prevention and treatment for sexually transmitted infections is the cost. To access the resources provided by SHS, one needs to be enrolled as a student. While it is not a requirement of students to have UCSD’s Student Health Insurance Plan, having SHIP lowers the cost of services like appointments with medical providers or prescription birth control.

    “If a student has SHIP, a lot of that is going to be low-cost or free. If you don’t have SHIP, we still try to make that as affordable as possible for students,” Okamura said.

    SHIP, which costs undergraduate students $385.46 per quarter and graduate students $594 per quarter, completely covers all FDA-approved generic contraceptive prescription drugs and devices. Birth control pills used to be available to SHIP recipients with a $15 copay, but since last year, when SHIP chose to adhere to the Affordable Health Care for America Act, that copay was eliminated. And for students without SHIP, rates start at $20 per month. With SHIP, emergency contraceptives, like the morning-after pill, are available for as little as $10, and without SHIP, $20. In comparison, morning-after pills at drugstores like CVS usually cost $50 with the addition of tax.

    Okamura also reminds students that all interactions with Student Health Advocates or other health care providers at the Student Health Services remain confidential, unless the student presents a harm to him or herself or others.

    If the subjects of the risky liaisons that we read about on the UCSD Confessions page don’t know about the services offered on campus, new attempts this year by SHS hope to raise awareness.

    “We have a student health advertising volunteer, and she’s working on finding ways to do that through videos on our website, through door hangers for the residence halls. She’s going to try different ways to catch people,” Okamura said.

    Student Health Services also offers self-directed STI testing as well as pregnancy tests that are available for free for students with SHIP or at a low cost to students without SHIP. A full list of services is offered, and pricing is available on the Student Health Services website. Dental dams and condoms can be purchased at the pharmacy desk in the Student Health Services office, and are also available for free in a basket by the door. But don’t be greedy — the sign politely requests, “Please only take two.”

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