There is no reason for sexually active students at LC not to get tested for STIs, besides, perhaps, having already been tested recently.
Rates of STI cases are on the rise globally, in the U.S. and in Portland.
In 2018, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) modeling suggested that approximately one in five people in the United States had an STI on any given day. Half of reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis were in adolescents and young adults aged 15-24.
Syphilis, in particular, is on the rise. According to the CDC, from 2018 to 2022, syphilis cases in the U.S. increased by 78.9%. In the CDC’s annual sexually transmitted infections surveillance report for 2022, the state of Oregon was ranked No. 10 for reported cases of primary and secondary syphilis in the U.S.
Portland, which makes up approximately 15% of Oregon’s population, serves as a liberal hub and haven for sexually curious and open individuals. Its wide range of sex shops and sex clubs, open dialogues around sex activism and communities supporting consensual and safer sex make it a lovely, creative, accepting place to live — but also necessitates increased awareness about and more commitment to safer sex practices.
As Portlanders, we have a responsibility to mitigate STI transmission and to model healthy sex practices.
LC, as a liberal arts college in Portland with sexually active students whose ages fall within the most susceptible age group of 15-24 years old, has a responsibility to help mitigate STI transmission.
In the same way that creating a culture of consent relies on the cooperation and involvement of individuals, mitigating STI transmission on a larger scale is incumbent upon the communication, proactivity, maturity and responsibility of sexually active individuals.
Using protection, communicating symptoms and getting tested are all skills we learned with the COVID-19 pandemic. Getting tested, while inconvenient, anxiety-inducing and time-consuming, is not as inaccessible as it may seem to LC students.
The Student Health Center is an affordable option, especially for students with the school’s PacificSource health insurance. Other insurance plans will often cover or reimburse testing, but be sure to check the specifics of your coverage. The listed cost of each test or service is easily accessed on the Student Health Center’s website under the Fees for Services section.
Planned Parenthood always has been and continues to be a bastion of sex education sexual and/or reproductive healthcare. It works with individuals’ financial needs to ensure that they have access to healthcare no matter what they are able to pay for it. Planned Parenthood has several nearby locations in Beaverton, Milwaukie and Northeast Portland.
Multnomah County STD clinic has a surplus of available appointments, is efficient and centrally located downtown in the Pearl District. It accepts a wide range of insurance, or charges $50 for those without insurance or who choose not to bill to their insurance. And it never turns away anyone who cannot pay.
Prism Health provides free and fast screening for HIV and other STIs through their pivot clinic on SE Belmont. Pivot is geared towards the LGBTQIA+ community in Portland, and cultivates a welcoming space for queer folks to access healthcare.
Most primary care providers provide STI testing, so if you have a primary care provider set up in Portland, you can reach out to them, in addition to all the places listed above. Our individual responsibility, though intrinsically tied to the local, national and global implications of rising STI cases, can have very real, painful and long-lasting effects on the people with whom we have sexual relations.
Avoiding these important conversations and procrastinating getting screened for STIs is not only irresponsible and immature, it is harmful and disrespectful. As uncomfortable as it may be, communicating symptoms and getting tested are essential aspects of being an adult and having sex. It is only uncomfortable because it is an unpracticed skill, which will become normalized and natural with practice. Get tested, folks.
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