Sex happens—even at Georgetown, contrary to what the University’s glaring lack of sexual health services might lead you to to believe. It is no secret that Georgetown is proud of its Catholic identity, extolling the virtues of Jesuit education at every chance. Catholics and non-Catholics alike respect this heritage and admire the university’s ability to emphasize spirituality and celebrate faith without imposing its doctrine on others. However, this identity cannot continue to intrude on the well-being of Georgetown students, as it has when it comes to the issue of sex.
Released last week, the Trojan Sexual Health Report Card graded a diverse group of 100 colleges in several categories, including availability of condoms and other contraceptives, HIV & STI testing and the depth of information accessible on the student health web site.
Georgetown’s sexual health services were ranked 80th, with an embarrassing ‘GPA’ of 1.1, on a scale that ranged from Yale’s perfect 4.0 all the way down to 0.0, a distinction shared by Notre Dame and Brigham Young Universities. Georgetown received a D for its web site, C for condom availability, C for contraception, C for HIV and STI testing efforts, D for sexual assault services and an F for peer counseling services and campus events.
The report reflects the extent to which the University’s policy on birth control not only fails to encourage safe sex, but creates unnecessary obstacles for students who wish to protect themselves. On the health education web site, be.georgetown.edu, there is no thorough discussion of the pros and cons of contraception, let alone advice on how to obtain it. Vital Vittles and Wisey’s are forbidden to sell condoms, and the GU Hospital pharmacy will not a fill a prescription for birth control unless it serves an explicitly non-sexual medical purpose.
Thankfully, the crucial public service of providing condoms on campus is performed by H*yas for Choice, although the groups is not officially recognized by the Student Activities Commission. One would think that this student group provided a win-win situation for the administration, independently ensuring that protection is available to those who need it without forcing Georgetown to involve itself with a practice that runs contrary to the policy of the Vatican. However, when H*yas for Choice tried to distribute condoms in dorms, the University inexplicably forbade the practice, relegating them to their current post in Red Square.
For Georgetown to go out of its way to assure that students cannot independently procure such materials on campus is downright irresponsible and dangerous. Of course, contraception is flawed, and no one can dispute that abstinence is the only guaranteed way to avoid STI’s and pregnancy. But by refusing to accept the inevitability of student sexual activity and stubbornly adhering to antiquated Church doctrine, the university is failing its students in its responsibility to promote sexual health.
Georgetown does not have to abandon its moral ideals and condone premarital sex, but in light of the health risks involved in the absence of contraception and STI testing, it is time for the university to accept responsible sex as the lesser evil.
