By Lan Nguyen

In late September, the University of Louisville was featured among 100 other colleges in a survey known as the Trojan Sexual Health Report.

According to Trojan Condom company’s Web site, “100 colleges or universities were selected to be included in the survey, with every state represented by at least one school. The schools were chosen for their size and general level of familiarity to the public.

This survey represents 23 percent of total four-year undergraduate college students in the United States and is representative of the college population.”

Information was gathered over the months of February to May 2006. Each of the schools was graded on seven different categories: Web site, condom availability, availability of contraception, HIV/STD testing, sexual assault services, advice column, lecture and outreach programs.

In each category, the college was given a numeric score of 1-10. The total scores were converted into a “letter grade” in the same fashion a student’s Grade Point Average is calculated.

U of L received an overall score of 0.7, with the highest grade being a “C” in HIV/STD testing. In the other categories, U of L received either a “D” or an “F.” Out of the 100 universities, U of L ranked 93.

Dr. Phillip Bressoud, a member of U of L’s medical center, was not pleased concerning the University’s score or the way the survey was conducted.

“A lot of that stuff was inaccurate. I don’t know who or how the survey was conducted, whether they just went around surveying random students or talked to some staff members. said Bressoud.

“[However] I certainly wasn’t contacted nor any of my staff. The information on how it was conducted is very vague.” said Bressoud.

Students were mostly surprised at finding out about the survey and the results.

“This reflects badly on the university. It sort of scares me that there”s this lack of information and availability [of condoms and contraceptives],” said freshman Elizabeth Dawkins, a justice administration major.

However, students were eager and ready to defend the university.

“I thought we had a good sexual health program. I know where to get condoms and stuff, and there are people handing them out, like commonGround. They [the people who conducted the survey] need to not say we”re horrible and need to say how they put out the survey, not just post the results,” said freshman and psychology major, Elizabeth Graviss.

“I don”t agree with that survey. I don”t believe it”s indicative of the services the University of Louisville offers on sexual health,” said Marchello Cavitt, a senior chemistry major.

Bressoud, however, did agree with the report concerning the grade of U of L’s health Web site. “A lot of the higher ranked universities had nicer Web sites But the main difference I could see was that they had more links to information on STDs. So, I’ll be adding that to [our] website.” said Bressoud.

He felt the schools with higher scores simply had nice Web sites and free [STD/HIV] testing. Currently U of L offers free testing for HIV, but not for other STDs. “We’re looking to make other STD testing free as well,” said Bressoud. “In addition we’re planning a health education program, specifically peer-to-peer, so that students can have people to talk to or ask questions that they would normally not tell us [doctors].” said Bressoud.

Bressoud and some students believe the grades U of L received were unfair and inaccurate, based on a vague grading system, unlisted sources and an unmentioned process of gathering information. As a result, they feel U of L was negatively and incorrectly portrayed to the public.

“I don’t know how we got stained so badly because a lot of that [information] is just wrong. I intend to find out about how this survey was conducted and about how scoring was done,” said Dr. Bressoud.

If a student is interested in free HIV testing (with no needles or blood), they can go to the Health Center on Belknap Campus every third Tuesday of the month. Or, they can go to the Health Services Office at the Health Sciences Center every fourth Tuesday of the month. Testing goes on from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and it is given on a first come first serve basis.