Safe sex, alcohol use prevalent, survey finds

By Nicole LaPrade

Students here tend to follow national trends surrounding high alcohol use and safe sexual practices, but are more vigilant in preventative health, a recent survey has found.

The National College Health Assessment Survey found that more Santa Clarans are vaccinated, have dental exams -- and even use sunscreen daily -- more than those at other schools across the country.

"Despite the fact that Santa Clara doesn't distribute condoms on campus, sexually active students are more likely to use condoms than students at other schools," said Jeanne Zeamba, director of the Wellness Center.

Fifty-four percent of respondents who said they were sexually active from Santa Clara said they mostly or always used condoms during sexual activity in the past 30 days as opposed to 46.1 percent of the reference group.

The reference group consisted of 47,202 students from 74 colleges and universities nationwide.

Of the 4,500 undergraduate students at Santa Clara, 2,800 were invited to take the survey. There were 812 respondents; the national average ranged between 600 and 700 respondents per school.

According to Larry Wolfe, the director of the Counseling Center, he was pleased to see that more students at Santa Clara are being vaccinated for meningitis.

The first time the survey was administered in the spring of 2000, the number of students here who had been vaccinated for meningitis was low. The school responded by campaigning to raise meningitis awareness and immunizations on campus.

Wolfe said that the results from the recent survey showed that the number of students at Santa Clara who are vaccinated for meningitis exceeds the national average.

He is also interested in looking into why the survey concluded that women at Santa Clara perform self breast exams less often than women at other schools, and whether there is need for education about self exams and breast cancer.

For Zeamba, one of the most striking aspects of the survey results for Santa Clara, as well as other schools nationwide, was the perception students have of their peers' behavior.

When asked about drinking habits, 17.3 percent of the respondents from Santa Clara said that they have never consumed alcohol and 0.4 percent said that they consume alcohol daily. When asked about the habits of their peers, Santa Clara students said that they believed that three percent of students have never consumed alcohol and that about 35 percent drink daily.

This misconception, according to both Zeamba and Wolfe, is likely based on whom students socialize.

"If a student drinks everyday, they're going to think that more students also drink everyday," Zeamba said.

Although Santa Clara's survey results show that amounts of violence reported are close to those in the reference group, Zeamba believes it is important to continue to educate students about such issues as sexual and emotional violence.

Santa Clara is also in the process of contacting other Jesuit schools across the country who participated in the survey in an effort to compare data to see if some of the results are typical of Jesuit universities.

The survey covers all areas of student health from allergies, pain, nutrition, drug use, and sleep.

"We are planning to do it every two years. This was because of the intensity of giving it initially (when it wasn't done online) and students will probably be more likely to participate," said Wolfe.

The next survey is planned for spring 2006.

For more information about the survey or the results, contact Zeamba at (408) 554-4409.

* Contact Nicole LaPrade at (408) 554-3140 or at nlaprade@scu.edu.