Cal Poly’s Educational Resources on Sexuality, known as E.R.O.S., is hosting its annual Love Carefully Week just before Valentine’s Day, to promote safe sex practices among Cal Poly students.
“We just want to bring awareness because with Valentine’s Day coming up, love is in the air — or not,” said E.R.O.S. Coordinator, Carla Globerson-Lamb. “We just want to remind people to stay safe, because people don’t realize how prevalent some things are.”
People ages 16 to 24 are most likely to contract a sexually transmitted infection (STI), said Geri Beaman, the Communicable Disease Investigator for the San Luis Obispo Public Health Department. This is a result of their tendency to participate in serial monogamy, or having numerous significant others throughout the year.
To illustrate, young adults are likely to only have sex with their partner while in a relationship, Beaman said. However, these relationships often do not last very long, which means they may have many sexual partners within a given year. The high rate of sexual partner exchange exposes this age group to higher risk of infection.
This age group also has a greater chance of contracting an STI because they tend to use condoms at the beginning of a relationship, but then start to regard condoms as unnecessary once trust is established, Beaman said.
For chlamydia, one partner’s infection will quickly lead to the infection of the other when no condom is involved.
In fact, chlamydia is the most common STI students have at Cal Poly, said David Harris, head of medical services at the Health Center. The Health Center diagnosed 19 cases during the 2009-2010 school year.
The second most common STI among students is the herpes simplex virus type 1, with 16 reported cases in the last school year. Type 1 typically causes cold sores around the mouth, but it may also cause sores in other areas of the body, including the genitals. Herpes simplex virus type 2 causes sores mostly in the genital region, but may also manifest as sores elsewhere. The Health Center diagnosed five reported cases of the herpes simplex virus type 2, which accounts for a rate of 27 percent positive results for those tested for both types of herpes.
The Health Center had no positive results for STIs other than chlamydia and Herpes during the 2009-2010 school year.
“The rates of STIs are very low in our student population,” Harris said.
The most common reportable STI among all adults in San Luis Obispo also is chlamydia, Beaman said. In 2010, there were 694 reported cases in San Luis Obispo County.
Chlamydia is the most widespread, because it often lacks visible symptoms, Beaman said. Up to 80 percent of infected individuals could have the disease without ever showing signs of its presence, which proves that having no visible symptoms of infection is not a reasonable excuse to ditch the condom.
There are more reported cases of Chlamydia among women, Beaman said, because females are more likely to visit the doctor for birth control and annual Pap smears.
“It’s not that men aren’t infected,” Beaman said. “They just don’t know it.”
The LGBTQIA community also stresses the importance of safe sex practices. The Pride Center will join the E.R.O.S. team today to spread awareness among non-heterosexual groups.
Pride Center members will be there to talk with students and make their presence known as a resource for people with questions about safe-sex issues, said Seth Winkenwerder, a student assistant at the Pride Center.
The E.R.O.S. team will be hosting a variety of games and activities with prizes in order to spread safe-sex awareness in a fun way, Globerson-Lamb said. Participants will have the opportunity to win condom lollipops, rose KISSES, lube and latex dental dams used for oral sex. They will also be able to “marry” anyone of their choosing in a fake ceremony — plastic jewel rings will be provided for the brides and grooms.
“The marriage booth is just a silly fun thing for people to do with their friends,” Globerson-Lamb said.
The Pride Center will be handing out rainbow ribbons, condoms and peer counseling magnets.
E.R.O.S. team members will start most of the conversation by way of a trivia wheel, so those who are too shy to ask questions will be able to participate and learn without feeling uncomfortable. Students can also compete to see who can put a condom on a dildo the fastest.
If someone does not feel comfortable discussing sex in public, E.R.O.S. encourages them to visit their headquarters on the lower level of the Health Center, where they can speak with someone in private.
The E.R.O.S. and Pride Center booths will be in the University Union today. Events will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.