Let’s face it: We live in a bubble. At Georgetown, it can be hard to imagine anything puncturing the relatively safe, stable world that extends from The Leavey Center to Lauinger Library. Then again, most college students would admit to making one or two questionable decisions in their lives. What they sometimes fail to see, though, is the fact that one or two bad decisions can stay with them for the rest of their lives.

For one in four college students, poor decisions can’t be left at the O’Donovan Hall brunch table on Sunday morning. The consequences of a one-night stand or one-time experimentation with drugs last longer than one bad night.

According to Stanford University’s Sexual Health Peer Resource Center, one in four college students today have at least one kind of sexually transmitted infection. And according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 19 million new cases of STIs that occur every year, half of them appearing in young adults aged 15 to 24. In general, 75 percent of STIs are acquired in this age range.

Nevertheless, it can sometimes seem as if college students live in a world of invincibility, especially when it comes to sex and drugs.

Danielle DeSilvis, a health educator in the Health Education Services offices located in Village C West, agrees about Georgetown students’ nonchalance when it comes to sex and its consequences.

“I think that students are aware that there are STIs, but a lot of times students seem to think that it won’t happen to them — there is this sense of invincibility, she said.”

But students are not invincible at any university — especially one located in Washington, D.C. The statistical prevalence of HIV in the city’s population is staggering. Why, then, do Georgetown students walk around thinking they are wearing a bulletproof vest, indestructible to these infections?

Justin Goforth, a registered nurse and the director of medical case management and prevention outreach and community outreach programs at the Whitman-Walker Clinic in D.C., believes this lackadaisical feeling comes from the naïveté of students coming to live in a city like D.C.

“There’s more of a problem around some of the major universities because a lot of people are not from this area, [and they] come from areas where HIV/AIDS is not as big of an issue … You’re hanging out at clubs and going out; college students come in, get released from home and get to have fun and go crazy,” Goforth said. “[But] you’re doing it in the city that has the highest infection rates of the entire Western civilized world.”

Washington, D.C. has an HIV infection rate 12-times higher than the national average, and the demographics look different than anywhere else in the nation. In Los Angeles, for example, 75 percent of new HIV infections result from MSM (men who have sex with men), but in D.C. MSM accounts for only one-third of new infections.

D.C.’s HIV-related demographics are shocking. Of all black men in the city, 6.5 percent are infected; 28 percent of cases result from heterosexual contact, which is “strikingly different than any other cities,” Goforth said. D.C. also has a 20 percent intravenous drug user infection rate, which is higher than many other cities.

At least 3 percent of all D.C. residents were living with HIV/AIDS in 2008, according to a report from the HIV/AIDS Administration in D.C.
Combine these statistics with those pertaining to college students specifically, and the realities of HIV/AIDS at Georgetown seem graver.

About one in 500 college students are HIV-positive, and the means of transmission are diverse. Direct contact with bodily fluids such as blood, semen, breast milk or vaginal fluids, or through the linings of the mouth, anus or sex organs or through broken skin, and of course, intercourse, are all possible causes of HIV/AIDS.

And like most college campuses, drinking is prevalent at Georgetown. Studies have shown that the consumption of alcohol — especially binge drinking — has lead to injuries as well as unplanned sex.

In a national survey of 140 colleges, the Journal of the American Medical Association studied the consequences of binge drinking in college. Over 17,000 students participated and the results were startling: The amount of risky behavior that college students displayed increased dramatically under the influence of alcohol.

One in five drinkers reported that they engaged in unplanned sexual activity as a result of the effects of alcohol. One in 10 drinkers did not use protection during sex because of being drunk, and students who engaged in frequent binge drinking had seven times the risk of engaging in unplanned sexual behavior.

Even students in long-term committed relationships can be at risk. According to St. Mary’s College of California’s Collegian Web site, Michael Carey, head of Syracuse University’s Center for Health and Behavior, said in an interview with NBC news, that people in lasting relationships often “underestimate their personal vulnerability by assuming that both they and their partners are invulnerable to STDs. This can lead to unfortunate consequences for both partners,” Carey said, “because people see being in love with their partner as making sex less risky, but microorganisms don’t respect love.”

The facts may be startling, but that hasn’t necessarily made Georgetown students any more cautious when it comes to prevention. It may be utterly impossible to detect if someone has an STI, because many don’t have any symptoms. Most college students don’t realize that some STIs, like herpes and human papillomavirus, can be transmitted from contact with the skin that is not covered by a condom.

HPV is one of the most prevalent STIs on Georgetown’s campus, according to DeSilvis. The other most prevalent STIs on campus are herpes and chlamydia.

With these numbers on the rise and more studies surfacing, some organizations on campus have been working to combat some issues related to STIs, including H*yas for Choice. While their primary focus may be on abortion rights, H*yas for Choice promotes safe sex by providing free condoms in dormitories on campus; for example, freshman residence halls generally have designated doors with boxes of condoms. A controversial organization for many, H*yas for Choice has faced challenges from Georgetown’s administration — which is often perceived as being at odds with students’ needs — mainly in part due to the Catholic identity of the university, which promotes abstinence before marriage.

Georgetown’s Health Education Services also provides guidance for students who are dealing with STIs. By simply calling or texting, students can set up appointments for counseling. Also, the Student Health Center provides extensive testing for STIs. If students are hesitant to seek testing on campus where the results could show up on their insurance or for any other reason, they can meet with DeSilvis at HES, located in Village C West.

“I believe that students also need to be educated on risk reduction methods and that is something that I am really working hard on with programming, events, classes and partnering with student organizations,” said DeSilvis.

“To be truly sexually healthy, students need education before action — and I don’t believe that students have the knowledge that they need in order to be sexually responsible.”

The truth can be frightening; looking at the statistics at Georgetown and in the greater D.C. area would make anybody wonder why people do the things they do. But today, the issue of STIs and sexual health has been in the spotlight.

“The statistics that were released earlier this year were a big wake-up call for the community,” Goforth said. “There’s a lot more talking about it, but we have a long way to go as a community. Everyone needs to be talking about it; we need to normalize getting an HIV test so the stigma is lifted.”

Georgetown students can get themselves tested and be involved in organizations around campus to promote sexual health awareness; but they can also take a course on the topic. Offered in both the fall and spring, Sexual Health Issues, was developed to cover a wide range of issues — cultural, social, scientific and religious. The class is taught by three different professors to promote a dynamic class experience and is open to students from all majors, not just health studies or nursing students.

“There was a need on the Georgetown campus for accurate sexual health information,” said DeSilvis, who teaches the class with assistant professor Joan Riley and James Welsh, assisant vice president for student health.

Goforth agreed that the need for an increase in awareness of STIs in the Georgetown community as well as the D.C. area is crucial. “I think it’s changing a lot.For several years we haven’t had good community awareness. It’s been put on the back burner for a while because we weren’t seeing people dying like they were in the ’80s and ’90s,” he said.

However, Goforth made clear the fact that people were still dying every day from these diseases. “A 22-year-old kid, he died. One of my friends called me up and said, ‘How do I figure out how to get funeral expenses paid for? My cousins son just died of AIDS.’ That just shouldn’t be happening, but it does because people aren’t getting tested soon enough.”

Whether on a college campus or on the streets of D.C., everybody is gradually being affected by the growing issue of STIs. Once whispered about with a negative connotation, STIs are now on the forefront of science and medicine, as well as in discussions of social relationships and interactions as activists, celebrities and world leaders take a stand to promote awareness and stop the rise of these infections. As college students, the strongest way that we can really help fight the battle is by being protected.