Dozens of students tested themselves for sexually transmitted diseases on Hayden Lawn Wednesday as part of a campus effort to protect their own health and that of their sexual partners.
ASU’s Undergraduate Student Government and Devils in the Bedroom, a club devoted to informing students about safe sex, collaborated with the Maricopa County Health Department to offer One Glove, a free STD testing event.
Club officers answered student questions while handing out free condoms.
USG Health and Wellness Director and biotechnology senior Kendra Quart said testing for STDs is extremely important, especially while in college.
“We want to make ASU as healthy of a campus as possible,” Quart said. ”We’re a huge university. Unfortunately, that’s kind of the lifestyle of being a college student — you go out, you do crazy things and you might have sex without a condom.”
She said being tested ensures students are either free of any infection or can be made aware of any STD they may have so they can inform their partners and seek treatment.
“When you come here you can get tested and know you’re clean,” Quart said. “If you were to do this at any (other clinic) it’d be about $170. The fact that we can do it here for free is pretty amazing.”
Cassandra Clarke, a psychology sophomore, said she was just walking by the event and decided it would be a good idea to get tested.
“It’s really helpful because I wouldn’t know where to get tested or how expensive it is, so that would probably stop me,” Clarke said.
Devils in the Bedroom officer and biology senior Marissa Swanson helped pass out flyers and demonstrate how to properly use a condom.
She said while students may be scared to find they’ve contracted an STD, avoiding the test won't make a possible disease disappear.
“A lot of the time you’re going to transmit it to everyone else that you sleep with,” Swanson said. “That’s putting you at risk of the side effects as well as the other person that you’re supposed to have trust in.”
Officer and Interdisciplinary studies sophomore Samantha Velez said Devils in the Bedroom tries to make students feel open about discussing safe sex during the One Glove event.
“People get really excited about the free condoms,” she said. “They usually have questions and sometimes they’re shy, but we try to make them feel comfortable.”
Film production sophomore Jim Pagano said he was walking by the event when he decided it was important he get tested to ensure the health of his future relationships.
“You have to be responsible and make sure if you do have something, tell somebody so you can protect them,” he said. “I think everybody should get tested.”
Reach the reporter at kmmandev@asu.edu
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