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Wednesday September 6, 2000

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Risk vs. reward

By Ty Young

Arizona Daily Wildcat

UA programs designed to educate, protect students from consequences of sexual activity

For many students, sexual activity is one of the major entities encountered while exploring the independence of college life.

With this independence comes responsibility and education, something that the University of Arizona administration and both university and Tucson police have advocated for years.

Irene Anderson, director of the Oasis Center for sexual assault and relationship violence at the UA, said students nationwide are always at risk for relationship violence whether or not alcohol is involved. Still, from her estimates, the number of reports to the Oasis Center has not indicated any large variations due to alcohol use.

"I don't believe we've seen any increased percentages of students who are sexually assaulted in a situation that (is) related to intoxication, but there is a high correlation on college campuses of acquaintance rape and the use of alcohol," she said.

Although reports of alcohol related incidents have stayed steady during the years, Anderson said the number of reports have increased steadily since the center's inception in 1995 - something she believes is a good sign.

"We've had a significant increase in students who have come here to make reports over the years because of the increased visibility of our services, the nature of the confidentiality of our services," she said. "The number of reports are much more linked with the number of people who are feeling comfortable with coming forward rather than they are an indication of increased crime and sexual assault."

"Sexual assault and domestic violence are two of the most under-reported crimes that exist, so we can't really gauge the severity of the problem from the number of reports that are made."

In 1995, 57 reports were filed at the Oasis Center. Last year there were 186, up from 134 in 1998. While the numbers compiled denote the year in which they were reported, Anderson said it is important to realize that they do not accurately reflect the actual year the crimes were committed.

"These are both current and past incidents - these could have been early childhood, or an adolescent dating experience or a rape that happened last weekend," she said. "That's very important because we fold all those numbers together."

Combating abuse

Matt Sanders, Oasis assistant director, said other forms of relationship abuse do not get the same attention as sexual assault. With this in mind, Anderson and Sanders developed the Oasis Center to handle all forms of abuse and act as haven for those with sexual related difficulties from both the past and present.

"What Irene and I were doing when we were starting the program up four-and-a-half-years ago, we decided very early on that we did not want to deal strictly with acquaintance rape - that was the buzz around college campuses at the time," he said. "We recognize that this is an issue, but you cannot tear it apart from the fact that there are other types of violence that go on in relationships. Controlling, manipulative behaviors, abusive language, abusive behaviors, physical violence - as long as that stuff is going on in relationships, we want to be a resource for those people as well ."

As the Oasis Center has expanded its services, the level of teaching has increased with the level of counseling. The center offers tips, classes and literature about how to avoid sexual abuse. Although the center dives deep into the heart of different forms of sexual abuse, it has taken the step to educate students about acquaintance rape and about how to report it.

"It is an important issue because probably acquaintance rape is primarily the type of rape you find," Sanders said. "You are not likely to find many occurrences of stranger rape."

Keeping out of situations that foster sexual assault and abuse is one the surest ways to steer clear of their ramifications. However, many of the typical student activities have led to these types of crimes. Both UAPD and TPD patrol Tucson streets for student parties where the atmosphere of alcohol and drugs add to the for potential harm.

"Be very aware if you have a drink, always be conscious and aware of where your drink is," said Sgt. Robert Allen of the Tucson Police Department. "Never go anywhere alone, have a friend with you."

STDs and UA students

In an attempt to stifle the growing number of reported sexually transmitted diseases, UA students and faculty are coming together to both educate and prevent the most common problems relating to sexual activity. According to data collected by the UA Campus Health Services, nearly two-thirds of the student population engages in sexual activity, yet only a small minority have reported complications due to STDs.

"From our Wellness 2000 data, 33 percent of UA students have reported not having sex in the past year," said Melissa McGee, a Campus Health educator. "We find very low percentages of STDs, at least low percentages of students reporting ever having an STD on this campus."

McGee said genital warts and Chlamydia are the most abundant STDs on campus.

"Both of them are under 5 percent," she said. "But students should understand that everybody engaging in sex is susceptible (to STDs)."

Although the numbers are low, HIV and AIDS are still considered the most dangerous STDs. Nationwide efforts to educate people have had an effect on raising awareness, especially on college campuses.

"We do see some students coming through who are HIV positive," McGee said. "It's very, very few."

Still, McGee said STD testing and prevention is integral to the safety of those who engage in sexual activity.

"A lot of times STD symptoms are not recognizable," she said. "In fact, sometimes they are asymptomatic - people don't even realize they have an STD."

Heather Lee, a business management and operations management sophomore, said she uses common sense to keep free from STDs. "I don't just trust people that I don't know," she said.

"I don't go off with people unless I know them very well."

Undeclared freshman Diana Free agreed that using intelligence is the most important aspect of staying safe from the ramifications of sexual activity.

"I don't have any fears (of STDs)," she said. "I don't go out and sleep around with people."

According to information gathered by Campus Health, the birth control pill and condoms remain the most popular and most dependible contraception devices for those engaging in sex.

Campus Health offers a variety of services to help educate students about the causes and preventive steps of STDs. One of the programs, Contraception 101, is a free one-hour class dedicated to helping students learn to help themselves.

Every Tuesday and Wednesday at 5 p.m., nursing student Jill Shreiner instructs students on the most effective ways to keep safe while also giving tips about how to recognize STDs.

"They learn about several different contraception options as well as testicular self-exams, breast self-exams, and what contraception devices are most effective for preventing STDs as well as pregnancy," said McGee, who oversees the program.

She added that while the program is only attended by around 60 students per semester, UA Health Services is designing ways to make it more accessible to students.

"One of the ideas that we have is to develop a sexual health Web site that would have a message board option for students where there would be several sexual health topics including STD prevention and various other things," McGee said. "Students would be able to post their question, their concerns, their experiences."

For information about the resources offered by UA Campus Health Services, call 621-6490.


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