Em-URGE-ing Voices

Your urgent thoughts, urging action.

 

CELEBRATING MY HERITAGE SHOULDN’T BE COURAGEOUS

Sep 19, 2017 / Ofelia Alonso / Our Folks Blog

Hispanic Heritage Month “pays tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society.” Every year, we see national media show us segments on food, folkloric dances, or notable figures in history. With our current political climate, it is important to reflect on the heritage we are celebrating, and … Read More

Television Has Made Lying about Your Sex Life Normal

Sep 14, 2017 / Veneeta Danhoui / Our Folks Blog

Why has lying about your sexual health history become a popular media trope in film and television? We also see this in social media with celebrities like Usher, who purposely withheld the fact that he had genital herpes from his partners and thereby infected them, and now denies it. So much of our media influences how … Read More

Kenneka Jenkins' Death Highlights a World Consumed by Social Media

Sep 13, 2017 / Lailah Berry / Our Folks Blog

I was sitting in my apartment drinking my green tea, when my  Group Me started to go wild. I opened the app to catch up on all the messages and saw that an incredibly grizzly story was the main topic of conversation. My friends were talking about what happened to Kenneka Jenkins, the 19 year … Read More

Abortion is Not Just a Women's Issue: Inclusive Reproductive Justice Signs

Sep 12, 2017 / Reilly Wieland / Our Folks Blog

Unsurprisingly, a majority of the catchy slogans adopted by the reproductive justice movement are cis woman-centric. It is easy to chant about ‘a woman’s right to choose,’ just because it has become an easy shorthand. What we fail to see in doing this is that we are neglecting to acknowledge that not everybody who seeks … Read More

Supporting Sexual Health Care in Kansas Starts with Education

Sep 07, 2017 / Dené Dryden / Our Folks Blog

Last week, I attended the Protecting Sexual Health in Kansas forum at Kansas State University. Speakers Jennifer Greene, director of the Riley County Health Center, and Micah Kubic, executive director of the Kansas ACLU, discussed the state of sexual health care in the country and in Kansas, specifically Riley County. Greene called Riley County a … Read More

For The White Men, By The White Men: Time To Stop Being Shook, and Start Shaking Things Up

Sep 06, 2017 / Anna Khan / Our Folks Blog

I remember the exact date of the last time I was truly shocked about something I saw in the news: November 8, 2016. Or, more like November 9, 2016 at about two a.m. before I forced myself to go to sleep and hoped that all would be better in the morning. There are few things … Read More

#DEFENDDACA, But Feeding White People Pain Porn is Not the Answer

Sep 05, 2017 / Ofelia Alonso / Our Folks Blog

DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, is in danger. The program allows young immigrants to apply for a renewable two year visa to work and study in the United States. The program does not put recipients on a path to citizenship or resident status, but allows 800,000 people to live in the United … Read More

Tell Me I Look Sexy With My IUD Strings Pushed Back: Let's Chat About IUDs

Sep 01, 2017 / Reilly Wieland / Our Folks Blog

Let me tell you a true story: I took the birth control pill for less than a month, and it made me feel horrendous. I gained weight, my skin broke out, and my pre-existing anxiety got even worse. This is where my first true love, my Mirena IUD, comes in.   I’ve never had huge … Read More

Dear Incoming Freshman, Please Add Condoms to Your List of School Supplies

Aug 31, 2017 / Lailah Berry / Our Folks Blog

“Americans are having less sex” says CNN news article, but the spread and severity of sexually transmitted diseases and infections (STDs and STIs) are on the rise. New York magazine surveyed over 700 students and to their findings, only 41 percent of women and 49 percent of men reported being sexually active. You might assume … Read More

“Americans are having less sex” says CNN news article, but the spread and severity of sexually transmitted diseases and infections (STDs and STIs) are on the rise. New York magazine surveyed over 700 students and to their findings, only 41 percent of women and 49 percent of men reported being sexually active. You might assume that because of TV shows like “Skins” and “Shameless” college is a literal hotbed of sexual activity. Not so. In fact, in the same survey about 39 percent of students identified as virgins. So to assume that more and more young people are having less sex may not be far fetched.

While sex is seemingly on a decline, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced this summer that  over 70 countries have identified a strain of gonorrhea that’s harder to treat because of weak antibiotics. “The bacteria that cause gonorrhoea are particularly smart. Every time we use a new class of antibiotics to treat the infection, the bacteria evolve to resist them,” said Dr Teodora Wi, Medical Officer, Human Reproduction, at WHO. 

So how does this affect young people? Well, it affects everybody. A bacterial infection that’s  harder to treat makes unprotected sex a little scary. Its about that time to start college, where you’ll be introduced to many different people,and their germs, and have awesome experiences that will teach you and prepare you for life. Step one for crushing college: always be prepared. When you’re prepared life is simpler, so I have some advice on how to avoid unwanted STDs, STIs and headaches from worrying about your health status.

1. Always use a condom: Whether you’re having a one- time hookup or if you’ve known the person for a long time,still use a condom. Not only can condoms help protect you from STDs and STIs, you can also protect yourself from an unintended pregnancy.

2. Don’t want to use a condom?- Get tested regularly with your partner. It’s the only way to know both of your statuses. Unfortunately, the stigma of having an STD weighs heavy on our decisions to go get tested. Break the cycle of shame assigned to having an STD or STI and get tested together!

3. Shower after sex and wash your sheets- Do I have statistics to back this? No, but making sure you’re as clean as possible on the outside may protect you from bacteria and germs trying to get inside. Showering often and changing your sheets regularly can keep you safe from anything lingering after your sexual encounters.

4. If you’re in college use the resources around you- At my school, there are tons of free condoms everywhere. I can’t get to class during the first few weeks without someone passing out a condom or a table of organizations offering free ones.

If you’re on one of the many campuses that doesn’t offer adequate sexual health services, find a health center, or urgent care facility that offers STD and STI testing. Your local reproductive health clinic is also a good option for any of your needs.


There is no %100 sure fire way to be completely safe from STDs and STIs unless you choose abstinence, but we all know how unrealistic that expectation can be.

A proactive way to stay safe is to get testing’s every 3-4 months

(STD’s and STI’s can lay dormant and hide in your system with very little side effects) Use proper protection when you have sex such as condoms, vaginal condoms, dental dams and also lubricants to keep you from tearing. Lastly, remember to ALWAYS pee after sex to avoid urinary tract infections.

Learn more about the WHO’s sexual health findings: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2017/Antibiotic-resistant-gonorrhoea/en/