The Texas Panhandle has an unfortunate problem, one that many school systems fail to properly educate young teens about. Sex Education is a touchy topic in the area; schools, teachers and parents differ on the method and content of sex education, or whether it should be taught at all.
“We didn’t have sex ed at all,” Josh Mullins, junior Mass Communication major, said. “I sometimes feel like with the Texas area it’s not a focus. In my high school we had a lot of pregnant teens.”
Students embarking on their college career can arrive with a serious lack of knowledge about safe practices. Fortunately, a campus organization recognizes the problem and has set its sights on sex education.
“The Panhandle ranks in the US for STD and teen pregnancy rates,” Fredrick Williams, senior Psychology major and Peer Education President, said. “I’ve found certain topics aren’t talked about. I met a girl who had four or five kids before she was 22.”
Every year, usually during the week of Valentine’s Day, PULSE puts on an event intended to spread information called Sexual Responsibility week. They table in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center commons, handing out pamphlets and condoms.
“Over the years we’ve done different things,” Williams said. “We do it around Valentine’s, because nine months later things tend to happen.”
Apart from condoms, they also give information about STDs, synthetic drugs and alcohol.
“Alcohol plays a part also, it’s not one issue,” Williams said. “A lot of things lead up to it.”
For college students, not understanding how to go about sex in a responsible and safe way can have serious consequences.
“We get all kinds of issues,” Orvie Nix, Director of Student Counseling Services, said. “Single mothers, that’s not uncommon. Either they got a divorce or the father won’t take responsibility, families are sometimes unsupportive. Almost always they’re eligible for financial aid, many work while doing motherly things and being a student. It’s a difficult challenge.”
Having to support a child while attending university, and working part time to keep the plate’s spinning, can be an overwhelming weight on a student’s shoulders.
“Babies take responsibility,” Williams said. “It might make you drop school. There’s always consequences.”
While PULSE sets out to inform students, some have taken issue with their distribution of condoms.
“There’s some criticism, as with anything you do,” Williams said. “One professor was upset about us passing out condoms. An alum was upset about the condoms and stopped donating, so the administration gets a little tense. Most students just come up, take them and say thanks. There’s not really pushback.”
Still, PULSE continues their mission to educate Buffs.
“I think [sexual responsibility week] is a good idea, it’d help a lot,” Mullins said. “You don’t want to have a kid or STD in the middle of college.”
