Letters and Emails

Sex education is available

In the Oct. 25 issue of The Santa Clara, Colleen Snyder wrote that she had not seen or heard anything regarding sex education in the last two years while here at Santa Clara University. I would like to set the record straight as to what is available to our students.

The Anthropology/Sociology Department offers "Human Development and Sexuality" (Anthro 135) and the Biology Department offers "Health and Human Disease" which covers a variety of health-related topics, including sexuality. Professor Bill Murray invites me to guest lecture on sexuality from the wellness perspective every quarter in this class. As the Health Educator on campus, I also present a program called "Sex and Chocolate" in the residence halls. This is a very popular program where students can ask any question regarding sex in a setting that is relaxed and open to discussion on a variety of topics. Last year approximately 75 to 100 students attended our presentations. Additionally, the Health Center and the Wellness Center in Malley carry a large number of pamphlets with titles on sex ranging from Abstinence 101 to Emergency Contraception. We do this because a random survey of 400 undergraduates in Spring 2000 showed that many of our students prefer to get their health information from pamphlets.

This same survey showed that about half of our students are sexually active and many avail themselves of the health services offered at the health center, such as gynecological exams and STD testing, including the HIV antibody test.

While Santa Clara is a Catholic institution, we are not prohibited from educating students about their sexual health. Education is not advocacy and providing information on sex does not contradict church doctrine, as Ms. Snyder suggests. As the sign in the Health Center states, "We believe it is important for our students to have up-to-date information on STDs, birth control and related subjects so that informed decisions can be made�" regarding their sexual health. I invite any student who wishes to take responsibility for his or her own sexual health, to stop by the Wellness Center or the Health Center for more information. We don't make decisions for you, but we can provide the information needed for you to make informed choices.

Laurie Lang,

Health Educator

Students are honest

A FEW DAYS ago, I purchased a salad from Mission Bakery. The clerk then gave me a receipt, and told me to stand in a line a few feet away to "claim" the salad. I was told to give the receipt to the clerk who was making my salad. After receiving the salad, I asked Lori Coronado, Bon Appetit's retail manager, the reason I had to show the receipt for the salad I had just purchased. She stated that the receipt is required to show that I paid for the item. I then asked her if she trusted students. Mrs. Coronado stated, "No, a majority of Santa Clara Students steal [food]." Majority suggests 51 or more percent.

I decided to see if this was true. Last Thursday, I observed student eating activity between 6:20 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. Of the 227 students that exited Market Square's doors, four did not stop to pay. (It is important to note the possibility that these people may have paid before.) Therefore, based on my observation, 1.7 percent of students steal, a far cry from Mrs. Coronado's claim that a majority of students steal.

Theft does occur at Santa Clara; however, we cannot let a few bad apples spoil the bunch. This is an important lesson to learn in life; one Mrs. Coronado should think about. Staff at the university should trust their customers. Perhaps the students at Santa Clara deserve an apology.

Chris Miller,

history, '03

Protestors are questioning government because of love

I am responding to the editorial on the War in Afghanistan that was in the paper three weeks ago. I feel that the article raised some good questions, but that we run the risk of looking at the situation from a too simplistic and narrow way. We can look at students who are raising their voices against the war and against the U.S. government and say that they are just angry, ungrateful people whojust want to hate our country. The article suggested this.

Being one of those people who has raised his/her voice, I would beg to differ. I would like to use an analogy. Say you have a best friend that you really love and ultimately care for. This person of late has chosen to join a gang and has participated in drive-by shootings, robberies, or what have you. This person is on, what you feel is, the wrong path � they are seeking power, material goods, using violence and basically becoming a big bully, and forgetting about the world around them. If you really love this person what would you do? Would you raise a flag and not question what they are doing? Would you just say forget it and give up on them? Or would you challenge them to grow and ask questions that help them see the wrong they are doing ? The last is what I consider to be true love � challenging someone to grow in a nurturing manner.

So how does this apply to the protestors? I think they're doing the most loving act. Surely some of them are messing up and are expressing anger instead of love, but at least they are raising questions. I feel that the U.S. is the friend who has gone astray � we seek too much power and wealth and take advantage of way too many people. We are privileged. But we are privileged because others are not, and with that comes responsibility. The responsibility to exert our freedom, to hear the plight of the world around us and to be compassionate and loving in all that we do.

So please, do the most loving thing that you can by asking questions and work to help those that we oftentimes forget about like our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan.

In peace,

Joe Albers,

religious studies/Spanish, '01