The annual Trojan Sexual Health Report Card, which shows us which colleges are committed to bringing quality sexual health to campus, has been released. Sponsored by Trojan Condoms and conducted by Sperling's BestPlaces, the rankings looked at 140 schools around the country to find out just how good their sexual health services were. Factors included contraceptive ability, outreach programs, testing, hours of operation, sexual assault programs, and drop-in availability.
Overall, the researchers were happy with what they found. "There has been a significant rise in the average level and quality of resources, and an evolution from general info to comprehensive knowledge bases inclusive of LGBT, transgender and other more specific populations," Lead researcher Bert Sperling tells Bustle. "We’re also seeing much more discussion and awareness of the issues of respect and consent on campuses regarding sexual activity and relationships."
Schools made massive leaps from year to year — UCLA jumped from 100th place last year up to 60 this year. And to show their commitment in helping to improve contraceptive availability, Trojan is donating over 100,000 condoms this year to schools around the country.
There is still a lot of room for improvement. "There aren’t really any 'easy' ways, but some proven methods include adding more peer groups, programs, initiatives, and services to educate students," Sperling tells Bustle. "Comprehensive and detailed websites are of primary importance to enable communication and outreach to students. Looking at other highly-ranked schools on the SHRC list for inspiration and ideas is a good idea."
So who topped the charts? You can check out the whole list, but here are the schools that came out on top (and on bottom):
Top 3 Schools:
1. University of Georgia
The University of Georgia jumped up from number three last year to take the top place in 2016. This was for a combination of reasons, including quality of contraceptive availability and testing. There have also been efforts around the school to normalize conversations about sexual health, including Project Condom Exhibition — a condom fashion show.
2. Oregon State University
Oregon State, which had been the winner in 2014 and 2015, dropped to the number two spot this year.
3. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
James Earl Jones' alma mater, University of Michigan— Ann Arbor, rounded out the top three.
Bottom 3 Schools:
138. University of Notre Dame
Maybe it's the affiliation with the Catholic Church, not exactly famous for embracing contraceptives, but Notre Dame— famous for its athletics and academics — was the third worst school that they looked at in terms of sexual health and services on campus.
139. St. John's University-New York
Another Catholic school, St. John's University, was right above the bottom of the list.
140. Brigham Young University
Speaking of religious affiliations, it's probably not surprising that Brigham Young came in at the bottom. The college is owned and run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with nearly all of the students being a member of the church, which has very restrictive of pre-marital sex,.
But religious affiliations aside, there should to be sexual health services available for all students on campus who wish to use them. There are so many ways for colleges to improve services — adding more hours, more sex-positivity, more access to contraceptives — but at least we're moving in the right direction.
Images: Andrew Zaeh for Bustle; Giphy (6)
