MSU ranked in top 10 by Trojan condoms for safe-sex education

If students have questions about safe sex, MSU probably has the answers, according to university officials and sexual health report card results released last week by Trojan condoms.

The 2009 Trojan Sexual Health Report Card ranked MSU seventh out of 141 colleges and universities for its efforts to provide access and availability to sexual health information and resources.

Dennis Martel, a health education services coordinator for Olin Health Center, said in an e-mail the results of the report card reflect what MSU has been doing for years.

“We are a data-driven and evidence-based department that designs our programs around what the student(s) need in order to make responsible decisions concerning their sexual health,” he said.

Researchers analyzed schools’ performance in categories such as health center services, condom and contraceptive availability, HIV testing services and Web site efficiency.

Working with Residence Halls Association, or RHA, to provide information and supply condoms to students is an example of university efforts to promote safe sex, he said.

Providing condoms for students, as well as HIV counseling and testing are examples of the comprehensive education and resources made available to students, said Erica Phillipich, a health educator in the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Olin Health Center.

“Students are not often able to talk about or ask questions about sex before they come to college,” she said in an e-mail. “We make every effort to let students know who we are, what we do, and how they can make the best decisions for themselves regarding their sexuality and sexual health.”

Bert Sperling, president of Sperling’s BestPlaces, the independent research firm that fielded the Trojan study, said students directly benefit from information and resources on sexual health.

“The more information and the more resources that are available to the students the better they can do to live a healthy lifestyle and make their own best decisions regarding sexual health and awareness,” he said.

The firm looked at the availability of services and information and conducted Facebook campaigns to gauge student feelings about health centers on campuses across the country.

“The goal is to try and put the information in the hands of the student and also the student health centers … so they can see how they compare … among schools,” Sperling said.

Mardan Kerimov, a mechanical engineering junior, said the resources MSU offers help students make good lifestyle decisions.

“It’s good just to see it around campus,” he said. “Having that (information) available just makes it easier for us to choose that lifestyle if that’s what we want to do.”

The report card ranking only adds to the efforts of the university, Phillipich said.

“We have and will continue to offer programs and services that are evidence-based and also take into account what students are telling us they need more of,” she said.

MSU’s goal is not to tell students whether they should or shouldn’t be sexually active, Martell said.

“The goal is that students who choose to be sexually active should have the knowledge they need to do so and can make those decisions with mutual consent and respect,” he said.