Today: Feb 17, 2025

Students: Wrap it, then tap it

Simone Virzi, Special to Southern News:
College consists of the four S’s: studying, shots, sex, and sleep. It’s that simple. Now let’s be honest, a substantial number of students are sexually active, whether they are in a serious relationship or go to the bar to try and find an easy lay. Many people have a carefree attitude towards life in general, but it can be dangerous to be carefree while intimate.
Chances are, you have been lectured a thousand times by health teachers in high school and college about contraceptives. It’s about as exciting as road kill, I know. But it is important. It’s not like they were attempting to teach you about the different kinds of rocks in earth science, which is both boring and useless. Using contraceptives is an easy decision that can protect you and your boyfriend or girlfriend from the adult version of cooties, also known as sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs.
Guys think that if their girlfriend is on the pill, it is okay to get busy without wrapping up their pecker. However, birth control is a safety blanket that only goes so far. Yes, it is good to avoid an unwanted pregnancy and a lifetime of regret, assuming it is taken daily. But birth control does not protect against STDs. Even Lil’ Wayne has rapped about wrapping it up: “Safe sex is great sex, better wear a latex, ‘cause you don’t want that late text, that ‘I think I’m late’ text.”
Some people believe girls complain to no end, but guys can be just as whiny. It’s a fact. I have had conversations with male friends who complain that using a condom verses going au naturel restricts them and it does not feel the same. I personally cannot confirm or deny this, but I’m sure there would be a difference between ejaculating in rubber verses a vagina or buttocks. However, condoms create easier clean-up, especially for all of those kinky people that have sex in library bathrooms or in an elevator.
It is not a huge inconvenience to carry a condom around, whether you keep it in a wallet or a purse. Think like a boy scout and always be prepared for whatever may come. Having protection can be a turn-on because it shows maturity and responsibility while still being ready for an adventure.
Honestly, everyone lies. It does not matter how great the guy or girl may seem, it does not take a rocket scientist to lie. Realistically, someone could easily lie to you about being clean. Someone may say they have been tested in the last month to lure you into bed and avoid using a condom, even though they have never actually been tested. Additionally, you do not know everyone who has slept with everyone you have slept with. All it takes is unprotected sex one time before you find yourself with an STD, and no one wants that.
There are a variety of sexually transmitted diseases someone could get including HIV/AIDS, genital warts, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Some of them are curable, but HIV, which later becomes AIDS, is not. Chlamydia, a disease that often has no symptoms, is the most common STD in the United States. Although it is curable, it can affect a female’s ability to have children if she is not treated.
College students are often convinced they are invincible and nothing bad could ever happen to them. Think again. Anyone having unprotected sex can get an STD. Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen, was the first major rock star to die from pneumonia, which was brought on from AIDS. He did not tell the world he had the disease until the day before he died, on Nov. 24, 1991. Retired basketball player Magic Johnson has also been living with AIDS. If these talented celebrities were not invincible, no one is.
Safe sex does not have to be bland; purchase more exciting condoms to make the night interesting. They come in a variety of colors besides a boring clear one. Some condoms are also flavored to add extra fun while still being protected.
Having unprotected sex does not necessarily mean you will obtain an STD, but it does increase your chance. Find out if you are clean. Wednesday, April 6, is Get Yourself Tested Day on campus. Health Services will be offering free STD testing from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Although you may initially be nervous, in the long run it is better
to know. If you already know you do not have an STD, continue to practice safe sex. Wrap it up!

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