RI Colleges Get Sexual Health “Grades” from Trojan
Monday, October 24, 2011
How smart is the sex at RI campuses? Trojan knows...
That's according to the new 2011 Trojan Sexual Health Report Card, which grades and ranks 140 national universities and colleges on the overall sexual health of its students. The good news? Brown University ranked a hot #4 nationally. The bad? Providence College is one of the worst institutions in the country, at #134.
Tops in healthy sex
The Ivy League dominated the Top 10 in 2011, lead by Columbia University, which took the #1 spot two years in a row. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign climbed a breathaking 62 spots to grab #2. Princeton University snagged #3 just ahead of Brown, and Oregon State University rounded out the top 5.
Bottom in healthy sex
Providence College, at #134, was just six spots from the very bottom of the rankings. No other New England schools placed in the bottom 10. The worst performer in 2011, at #140, was DePaul University, barely bested by Brigham Young University at #139.
What makes a college sexually healthy?
The well-known manufacturer of condoms worked with equally well-known Sperling's BestPlaces to asses the 140 major campuses drawn from conferences within the Bowl Championship Series, and beyond. Sperling's researchers rated accessibility of sexual health resources and information to students by looking at data via student health center representatives on services across 13 categories, including:
- Student opinion of Health Center
- Hours of operation
- Allow drop-ins or require appointments for student scheduling
- Separate sexual health awareness programs for students (e.g. Sex week, etc)
- Contraceptive availability -- free or at cost
- Condom availability -- free or at cost
- HIV testing on-site (On/off campus, cost)
- STI testing on-site (On/off campus, cost)
- Anonymous advice for students available through center (via email, phone, text)
- Lecture/outreach programs for sexual health issues
- Student peer groups
- Availability of sexual assault programs, resources or service
- Website usability, functionality
"Schools that did well in this year's report card tended to score uniformly high across all categories, while those ranked towards the bottom were less consistent in category grades," said Sperling. (Students who would like to inform researchers of the positive changes they are making on campus can email Trojan at TrojanReportCard@edelman.com.)
For the entire rankings (and more information on Trojan condoms), go here.
For more health coverage, don't miss GoLocalTV fresh every day at 4pm and on demand 24/7, here.
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Comments:
Michael Trenn
7:24pm on Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Many of the "health" indicators cited in this article exist in direct contradiction to the religious values of Catholic Colleges, including Providence College. These values inform the life of these colleges. As Ann Landers once put it: "The Catholic Church did not become the Catholic Church by offering a menu of choices." Students can, howver, and do find these services in off-campus locations, such as the various neighborhood health centres around the Providence Metropolitan Area. This article is a hit piece, only designed to punish Providence College for staying true to the belief system that informs it. As a non-Catholic graduate of the college, I will not lose any sleep over the ranking.