Face off: wrapping up the contraceptives debate - Solving sex miseducation

By Armand Domalewski

I like to think of myself as a pretty manly guy. I'm in the military, I fist pump at least ten times day, and yeah…I work out. But even manly men such as myself have their weak moments.

Some enjoy listening to a little Bieber on their downtime, some cannot get enough of "America's Next Top Model," and I…well, I watch the hit Fox TV show, "Glee."

In fact, I was recently watching an episode when a certain plotline caught my eye. One of the characters, Brittany, shocks her family, friends, and boyfriend by declaring she is pregnant.

The entire community reacts, offering her assistance and worrying about her future, until someone finally thinks to ask Brittany how exactly she knew she was pregnant. Her answer?

Well, the stork had started building a nest next to her window, and we all know what that means.

What it really means, unfortunately, is that America's young people are woefully uneducated about sexual health.

In fact, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention did a study which revealed that approximately 17 percent of sexually active college girls say that they use the rhythm method as their primary form of birth control, despite the fact that it's considered by experts to be one of the least effective methods of pregnancy prevention.

The lack of access to birth control on campus contributes to an atmosphere of sexual miseducation. It's time to put condoms in Cowell, and here's why.

First, contraception is critical to preventing STDs and unwanted pregnancy. Stanford University's Sexual Health Peer Resource Center points out that an estimated 1 in 4 college students has a sexually transmitted disease.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy notes that 61 percent of students who have a child after enrolling in a college drop out before finishing a degree. Condoms on campus provide an effective way to combat these problems.

As Dr. Lora L. Jasman, the director of student health services at Oregon State University points out, "Students are, for the first time, out on their own, and they have to make decisions on their own. It's critical we find ways to reach out to them."

Making condoms easily available is key to building life long habits of safe sex at a time when students are most vulnerable to unsafe sexual practices. Furthermore, condoms on campus increase the use of contraception by both being significantly less costly and, perhaps more importantly, carrying less of a social stigma.

If condoms were available on campus, students could simply walk over to the condom box. Contraception is critical to protecting the sexual health of our campus.

By not endorsing contraception on campus, the university is implicitly siding with the Catholic Church and supporting abstinence only education.

The problem is that this alternative is a dangerous failure. A congressional study of all abstinence programs in the US found that students exposed to abstinence only education were just as likely to have sex than those who took comprehensive sex education.

Furthermore, they did not have less sexual partners on average.

The only difference was that they were significantly less likely to use effective contraception and more likely to experience unwanted pregnancy.

The university needs to abandon its support for a policy that does not work.

Finally, we need to understand and view this as a critical first step in starting a conversation about sex on this campus. For too long, Santa Clara University has fostered a culture of shame on campus.

When sexual violence and rape occur, instead of having an open and honest discussion, we sweep it under the rug. The university's main current resource for sexual health is Cowell, whose website reflects just how seriously this campus treats sexual health.

Half the links on the site don't work, and it lists sterilization as a major option for contraception. Unfortunately, we're not alone. According to a survey done by The Body: The Complete HIV/AID Resource website, only 16 Catholic colleges out of 133 reported making contraceptives available to students.

That's ridiculous, and it has to stop. By boldly making a statement on the side of sexual education and against sexual ignorance, Santa Clara University has a real chance to dramatically change not just this campus, but all Catholic campuses. Our university has historically stood as a progressive icon in the Jesuit community. In 1857, Santa Clara awarded the first bachelor's degree given in California. Santa Clara was the first Catholic university in California to admit both men and women.

When Santa Clara leads, Catholic schools follow. When Santa Clara leads, communities stand up. And when Santa Clara leads, the world listens.

Armand Domalewski is a junior economics major.