Top-Rated U of M Sexual Health Program Nothing to Joke About

The University of Minnesota has earned the top spot this year in a study paid for by Trojan brand condoms. The University’s Sexual Health Awareness and Disease Education program is credited for the top rankings, and despite the implication from mainstream newspaper columnists that the program simply hands out condoms to students, SHADE brings a mix of ideology geared to all students’ experiences.

Emily Matson, student co-chair of SHADE, says the program focuses on a variety of methods to reduce unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. “We encounter people all the time that have never seen or touched a condom before or even know how to properly use them,” she says. “There are students who come from an abstinence-only sex education or none at all. We teach these students the skills and base knowledge they need to be able to go out into the world and make better sexual decisions.”

Matson says the education that peer counselors and health advocates share through SHADE provides many with the information and skills for when the time comes for sex. “Teaching someone how to put on a condom, or what a dental dam is for can be the motivator for actually using one when the time comes,” she said. SHADE has the information on various tools for safer sex. So if you are worried about oral transmission of STDs, for instance, they can give you the facts on dental dams. There’s no need to turn to a friend.

While the university program handed out over 100,000 condoms last year, the program also delves into other strategies to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy. “Abstinence is another area that I feel like we’ve made a difference,” says Matson.  The group did a poster campaign that said 30 percent of undergrads use abstinence as their method of safer sex, and the group hands out “abstinence kits” containing information about that method. “I’ve had students come up and say they were really glad that we created the poster, along with our abstinence kits that we hand out. It’s our way of supporting those students that are making that healthy decision,” said Matson.

And while students may be uncomfortable with their student fees going to pay for condoms, Matson says it’s better than the alternative. “I like to think of it as a cost-benefit analysis. Passing out condoms is one of the few scientifically effective preventative public health strategies, which is also supported by the CDC. Condoms can drastically reduce the risk of unwanted consequences, and many other preventative public health measures can’t produce that great of an effect,” she said.

SHADE adviser Dave Doman said, “It’s hard to believe but in 2007 discussing sexual issues within groups of college students can still be a taboo proposition. I think our light-hearted approach really opens the door to some good discussion of serious issues.”

Getting students excited about sexual health also has benefits for students running the program. Matson said that students get the benefit of gaining leadership skills, they gain in-depth knowledge of sexual health that is applicable to their own lives, and they find community in a huge university.

One way the group brings visibility to the cause is through fun and engaging marketing, including SHADEy, a life-sized condom. “We get students excited about using condoms. SHADEy the condom mascot, our condom posters and all our fun items help with the normalization of condom use,” said Matson.

“Last Wednesday, I saw the Pillsbury Doughboy on the ground floor of Coffman Union. I got to thinking that Pillsbury sells dough, so they have a doughboy. Planter’s sells peanuts so they have Mr. Peanut,” Dorman said. “SHADE promotes condom use so we have SHADEy.”

That normalization has gained the university honors in sexual health and likely helped many sexually active college students avoid STDs and unwanted pregnancy. And if condoms aren’t the tool that students want to use, they can ask SHADE about abstinence, too.