STDs Eradicated on Campus and Birth Control for Entire Student Body

By Morgan Jerkins '14

The 2009 Trojan Sexual Health Report Card, which judges the sexual health of a campus based on condom availability, health center hours, access to STD testing, and student opinion, put Princeton in 61st place out of 141 colleges and universities across the United States.

The 2010 Report Card boosted the University to eighth place. The GPA does not, however, take into account sexual activity on campus or commonness of sexually transmitted diseases.

Introducing sex into a cordial conversation with Princeton students does not always result in people running away (unlike one of my chosen interviewees). My interviews with several students on the topic produced comical and blatantly honest responses.

I asked male and female students about this exciting news. At the beginning, my questions about condom availability and the whereabouts of these condoms were one-sided. All of them praised the accessibility of the Trojans and cited their RCAs and/or McCosh as great sources to get them—for free.

But when I asked how nervous one was to actually and go and ask for one, the group was divided into females and males. The females expressed reluctance while the males considered shopping for condoms hardly different an experience than buying shampoo.

Then I asked how each one felt about the ranking with regard to Princeton’s social scene. One freshman female responded, “Yes! Now I feel like I can go to the Street and hook up with any guy and not get an STD.” A male responded, “It’s probably a little inflated to be honest, unlike our damn grades.” So unlike their grades, students seem content with what is given for sexual precautions.