Men unlikely to go to health center

Andrew Croft

mast news intern

At PLU, there is a major problem that has been occurring; the lack of male students that visit the health center. According to clinic director and physician assistant of PLU’s health center, Susana Doll, men don’t come into the health center often. When it comes to getting tested for sexual transmitted diseases, men are ghosts around the health center, said Doll.

Last spring, an anonymous male Pacific Lutheran Student went against the curve and got tested.

“I’ve never done it before,” the student said. “I thought it would be a good idea to get checked.”
Sexual transmitted diseases are a big deal in our society, especially for college aged students.
In the students case, as in most all cases, his tests came out negative.

“I didn’t feel as if I had any STD’s, but I thought it would be a good idea.”

Even if you feel as if you have no chance to get an, it’s good to get checked.

“Better safe than sorry,” said the student.

“Men have this preconceived notion that STD and sexual responsibility is the women’s responsibility,” Doll said.

According to a publication on health and sexuality from the Do It Now Foundation, men have the same exact amount of responsibility that women do.

“If a man has an STD and a woman contracts it, it’s both of their faults,” Doll said. “And vice-versa.”

Most of the male students at PLU don’t visit the health center to get tested for STD’s.

“Men take their health for granted,” Doll said. “Men feel like they know everything, and when it comes to STD’s, they think they are untouchable.”

Before the student visited the health center for his check up, he thought like every other male that Doll has described.

“I used to think that if I wore a condom everything would be fine,” the student said.
The use of condoms is a common misconception among men. According to the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, though condoms are a good source of preventing STD’s and pregnancy, there is no definitive study about condom effectiveness for all STDs. If you use a condom, that doesn’t mean you will not contract an STD.

The student use to think that it was the safe way out and when he wore a condom, contracting an STD wasn’t even a possibility.

Before the student started going into the health center, he was embarrassed of what other people would think of him.

“I was always afraid that the person testing me thought ‘Wow, he probably has sex all the time,’” the student said. “I also was afraid of people I know seeing me and thinking, ‘What diseases does he have?’”