Auburn University moved up almost 30 places on Trojan's Sexual Health Report Card for 2012.
Researcher Bert Sperling said the results for the report card were based on the information and resources provided by 141 different universities in regard to sexual health.
"Some people look at the title of the study, which is the Sexual Health Report Card, and they think we're trying to measure sexual activity on campus, which would be sort of invasive, and we don't even want to go there," Sperling said. "Or we're measuring the amount of sexually transmitted illness among students, but there's really no good measure of that either, so we don't even get into those areas,."
Sperling said Auburn improved from last year's spot at number 121 due to the increased Web presence of Auburn's Health Center.
"We feel it's really important because so much of the information that everyone gets these days is via the Web," Sperling said. "HIV and STD testing. Where can they be tested? How much does it cost? When can it be done? All those sorts of things, students are going to look up, and if they can find it online easily, then that's going to help them stay safe and healthy. Auburn really improved their online presence this year, and they deserve a lot of credit for doing a great job."
Web presence was only one of the 11 categories Sperling considered, however, and Auburn didn't do as well in other areas, such as the availability of sexual health information in student newspapers.
"In some campuses, we didn't find this in Auburn, but they have a weekly column about sexual health issues where students can write anonymous questions," Sperling said. "Oregon State has a great one where a member of the teaching faculty writes under the name of Dr. Sex, and, as a result, is able to not only answer student questions, but educate many, many other students."
Another category Sperling measured was the availability of condoms and contraceptives on campus.
Juliana Bone, senior in graphic design, said she thought Auburn does a good job making condoms available to those who want them, but she wasn't sure if the University should be providing them to students for free, as some other universities.
"I think availability is fine," Bone said. "I know I've seen them in Outtakes. I think it's a touchy subject because religiously it might offend some people. They sell them off campus too, so I'm not sure it's that important to have them on campus. I've always lived off campus, so I guess people in the dorms, it would affect more."
Sperling said he was aware of the controversy over making condoms available on campus, but said students should still have the option to choose.
"I'm sure that some students feel that way and others feel the opposite," Sperling said. "What we've seen in colleges close to the bottom of the list, like Notre Dame, we've seen editorials in their student newspaper where they have used the Trojan study to show that they are not getting as much information and resources as other schools. Our thought is that the information and the resources are there for the students to use or to not use as they choose. It's up to the student, so for students who want to use those services and have that information, then it's there for them. The important thing is that it puts control in the hands of the students so they can make their own choices."
Sperling said Trojan chose 141 of the largest universities in each state for the study in order to make a positive impact on the sexual health programs that reach the largest number of students.
He said universities lower on the list, like Auburn, could look to colleges higher on the list for inspiration.
"Auburn has improved a lot and is doing much better than it has before, but the other schools, like the University of Illinois, excelled in almost all categories," Sperling said. "Providing information about male and female contraceptives, the health center had extended hours they were open and they had a lot of different outreach programs and events regarding sexual awareness, so that's what they did that was exceptional."
Bone said promoting events related to sexual health may be more difficult for a more conservative university like Auburn.
"I think they wouldn't want to offend anyone or turn anyone away from Auburn, which I understand," Bone said. "I think definitely it's a bit conservative."
Esther Walsh, public relation officer for Trojan, said the study helped universities become less conservative about discussing sexual health, and the University of Idaho recently hired their first coordinator for a new sexual health education program in response to the results.
Sperling said he was happy about the changes being undertaken in response to the study.
"We're really excited about doing this study," Sperling said. "We're an independent research firm based in Oregon, and we've done studies on women's health and hypertension and asthma, all sorts of different studies in the health field, but this is the one that we feel the proudest of because of the positive change it makes on so many students, so we really feel good about this."
SEC rankings in the TRojan Sexual Health Report Card
Auburn #91
Alabama #21
Georgia #27
Florida #12
Miss. State #79
Ole Miss #115
Vanderbilt #106
Texas A&M #60
Missouri #46
Arkansas #84
LSU #37
Tennessee #121
Kentucky #36
S. Carolina #23
Rankings out of 141 universities. Compiled by Trojan brand condoms.
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