If you haven’t already noticed, the student restrooms are filled with signs encouraging students to seek Healthy Start for advice on information such as sexual activity, sexual transmitted diseases, and pregnancy.

Healthy Start coordinator Judy Rauzi tries to help students who are sexually active by giving them advice, information, and telling them about the consequences if they have sex at an early age. “We want to make sure kids are protected and that they know what they are doing,” she said.
It’s great that Stagg has all of these beneficial programs but the thing is, some students don’t know about them and that led to the flyers.

“Even though a student who is 14 or older can go to a clinic without a parent’s consent and receive information on sex, all services here require a signed parental consent,” Rauzi said. With the parent consent everything that is discussed with the counselor is completely confidential.

We join Healthy Start in wanting to be sure that, if students need to, these programs are being used. “We tell them what they need to know and we give them options, but it’s their decision and they make the final judgment call,” Rauzi said.

Any student can set up an appointment with the clinic to receive information on sex and sexually transmitted diseases and, if the students need it, the clinic offers condoms and birth control. They also offer testing for STD’s for those who ask.

Now just because there is a clinic on campus that offers this information, that doesn’t mean to go and have sex. The point of this program is for students to learn what diseases are out there and how to be protected from them. We support this clinic and what it’s doing to help students completely and the conflict mediators here on campus also believe that these services are beneficial.

Not only does Healthy Start offer information about sex, it also offers other important services such as immunizations, sports physicals, treatment for STDs, free HIV testing, and drug and alcohol abuse programs. Just like with getting information on sex,  students must have their parent sign a consent form to use these other beneficial programs.

Also, plays and assemblies have been used to tell and show students about what Healthy Start has to offer. One play, “Secrets,” shown here on Oct. 24  taught students about STD’s and other diseases and consequences that come with having sexual intercourse at an early age.

“The main goal of ‘Secrets,’” Linda Roberts, S3 Grant coordinator said. “Was to educate our students about sexual diseases and the prevention of it.” For those who have not yet seen “Secrets,” the play will be back in Spring for more students to see.

All of this information is provided free to students who need it, so they should be taken advantage of. We want to make sure that students know about these great programs here on campus and that they use them. However, it would be best if they don’t have to.