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© 2013 Columbia College Chicago. All Rights Reserved.
600 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60605 Map It!
Maintained by: Student Communications
HIV/STD Testing Dates
- October 5, 2011
- November 2, 2011
- December 7, 2011
- February 1, 2012
- March 7, 2012
- April 4, 2012
- May 2, 2012
All testing takes place on the first Wednesday of every month between 10am and 1:30pm on the 8th floor of 1104 S. Wabash Ave. except the December 7th session which will take place in the Conaway Center on the 2nd floor of 1104 S. Wabash Ave.
Visit the HIV/STD Testing Information page for more information.
On-Campus Condom Distribution
- Counseling Services | 731 S. Plymouth Ct., 1st floor
- Residence Life | 731 S. Plymouth Ct., 1st floor
- Student Health Center | 731 S Plymouth Ct., lower lovel
- College Advising | 623 S. Wabash Ave., Room 300
- Student Relations | 623 S. Wabash Ave., Room 301
- Services for Students with Disabilities | 623 S. Wabash Ave., Room 304
- Conaway Achievement Project | 618 S. Michigan Ave., 1st floor
Over 200,000 people in U.S. are infected with HIV and don’t know it. In an effort to encourage students to use protection and make informed choices, Columbia’s Student Health and Support offices have made it easy, and free, to get condoms and to get tested on campus.
“The current generation of young adults never had exposure to the AIDS epidemic in the 80′s and have not seen the face of HIV/AIDS,” suggests Mark O’Brien, coordinator of Student Relations. “I think young people begin to see HIV/AIDS as a treatable disease without fully realizing all the negative effects. This program raises awareness about HIV/AIDS, facilitates conversations about risky sexual behavior and risk-reduction techniques, and informs students of their status so that they make well-informed sexual decisions.”
Free on-campus testing takes place the first Wednesday of each month between 10am and 1:30pm in the 1104 S. Wabash Ave. building on the 8th floor. Testing includes screenings for HIV and common STDs.
Along with the test, students have one-on-one counseling and a chance to speak with a professional about their sexual behaviors. The initiative is part of Columbia’s comprehensive Safe Sex Program.
“The intent is to encourage students to protect themselves while engaging in sexual activities and to learn about how to reduce or eliminate their exposure to HIV and STDs,” O’Brien says. “Students do not have to be embarrassed or ashamed, we want to put this out in the open and encourage students to utilize these services,” he adds.
The initiative also includes a goal to make Columbia the largest college distributor of free condoms in the United States. Thanks to a donation of 100,000 condoms from the Chicago Department of Public Health, Columbia is able to distribute condoms, for free, to it’s students at multiple locations across campus.
Visit the Campus Condom Distribution page and the HIV/STD Testing Information page for more information.
© 2013 Columbia College Chicago. All Rights Reserved.
600 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60605 Map It!
Maintained by: Student Communications
I completely agree with this concept. Students are going to have sex, no matter how society views this subject. We are all animals, with animal instincts to reproduce. Giving out protection helps unplanned child birth and of course assisting in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
I completely disagree with this idea of giving condoms to students. It just show that you are not morally helping them to stop HIV. We know that contraceptive could help but it seems like you are encouraging to have safe sex than just totally abolish sex in the system. They’re just students! They must be teach that safe sex is done by doing the act after marriage. This is alarming
This is an excellent approach to student health.
Interesting blog. It would be great if you can provide more details about it. Thanks you .
Really important step for protect aids.
If you, or someone you know, participated in Columbia’s free HIV/STD testing, and would be willing to chat about it for an ECHO article (NO RESULT INFORMATION REQUIRED!) please contact me: BeckyLer@gmail.com. Thanks!
Right. Because of the personal beliefs of some students, the rest of us shouldn’t be able to protect ourselves for free. Keep everyone in the dark. Withhold resources. That’s the best way to prevent the transmission of disease. Great idea.
It’s always a relief when someone with obvious expietrse answers. Thanks!
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If you people are truly concerned with the well being of the students of CCC, then you should stop giving free condoms to them. Condoms DO NOT PREVENT STDs or HIV! Condoms are a crappy piece of rubber that are liable to break, crack, or slip during intercourse, and when that happens, all of the BLOOD, SEMEN, and other assorted BODILY FLUIDS can leak from one partner to the next. By giving out free condoms, you are basically giving students an excuse to have sex with whoever and whatever for absolutely any reason. It’s like telling someone to run around in a busy highway, and saying “Just make sure you wear a helmet!” Students who would otherwise hold off will be more likely to have random sex just because they can get condoms for free. The best and only guaranteed way to avoid catching an STD or acquiring an unwanted pregnancy is to practice ABSTINENCE! Period. Yeah, that’s right. I said that big word that you are all afraid of: ABSTINENCE. It’s the only thing that works. Start giving us students some actually useful information to prevent STDs because a friggin piece of rubber on some hairy dude’s penis ain’t goin do it.The only “protection” students need is SELF RESTRAINT. Why are you acting like it is impossible?
Thank you!
I think giving these services to students is a great idea. Many college kids have sex, not all, but it is the reality of it. Most of them are actually very conscious about the risks they are taking and use condoms and birth control regularly. Every one of us has gone through sex education so we all know how the process works, and we all have been made fully aware of the possible outcomes of sex, intercourse and otherwise.
As an upperclassman I have been asked several times by friends if I knew how to get tested and where to go because they wanted to get tested and didn’t know how or where to do it. This service makes it very available and easy to use for those students who do want to be extra safe, and encourages people who haven’t been tested to have it done to be sure. I also know several couples that have required the other member to be tested before they will ever consider having sex to keep themselves safe. The availability of this service really has benefited so many people for not only their physical well being, but for assurance that they are taking as few risks as possible.
The free condoms also make them affordable to use. It is about on average $1 per condom for a decent one. For couples that have sex frequently this can be very expensive. Most students will also pause and replace a broken condom as well so this can add up very quickly. While free ones are usually of lesser quality, a cheap condom is better than no condom. And as for slipping off, a properly fitting condom very rarely slips. By trying a variety of free condoms they can figure out which size and brand works the best for them without wasting $10 on a whole pack that is unsafe to use. You might be surprised at how often sexually inactive men try on a condom to see how it fits and works so that they know how to make it work for whenever the need may arise.
Students also party, and sometimes parties lead to sex. Believe it or not, most of the time students use condoms when intoxicated if they are available. But when a student is broke and can’t afford them, they may go without. By making them available it just increases the chance they will use them.
And yes, abstinence is the only thing you can count 100% on, and it is great that some people choose that route. The simple fact though is that providing these services doesn’t promote having sex to those students that are choosing to be abstinent; it is promoting safe sex to those students that have chosen to take the risks. Students that choose to be abstinent generally aren’t looking for random sex. They may not be waiting for marriage, but they are always waiting for someone that meets a set of standards they have set and are comfortable with sticking to. Colleges that have chosen to provide free sexual health services are simply adapting to the culture of their students and are giving their students as few reasons not to be as safe as possible.
Thoughtful response, you make very good points. You cannot assume everyone is going to suddenly stop having sex, so it is better that those who are going to do it regardless do it with a “crappy piece of rubber on” as opposed to rubbing their sexual organs directly together, with all sorts of bodily fluid seepage and absorption and no way to at least catch or repel the fluids that could infect or impregnate the other person. How’s that for some graphic imagery (and a run on sentence), Anna?
Uhm, I definately think giving out free condoms is definately a positive move. People who choose to not have sex dont have to pick up any free condoms, but for those who do have sex have the opportunity to be supplied with condoms, and be prepared if they are ever in a situation where they would have intercourse. Condoms are expensive, like 7 dollars for a pack of 3. Condoms prevent unwanted pregnancy and can protect from hiv and stds. They dont break when used properly or the right size is used. Ive been having sex for years, always with a condom, and Ive never had any pregnancy scares. Dont be hating if you dont agree with pre marital intercourse. Let those who choose to partake be prepared. Expand your mind.