When are you supposed to give your consent? What is the best form of birth control? How can unprotected sex affect you? The fact of the matter is that most teenagers are uncomfortable asking themselves these questions even though they’re essentially inevitable.

The “Be Proud! Be Responsible!” day-long class is offered to any student with parental permission. Its purpose is  to speak about the dangers of unprotected sex, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV and prevention of teen pregnancy. Healthy Start, located on campus, offers many resources across the Stockton Unified School District. Family planning services are indeed offered in the E-2 from birth control to pregnancy tests for STDs.

Delta Health Care recognized the importance of safe-sex education targeted toward young adults and decided to launch their all-day classes. Hosted by one facilitator, attendees watch educational videos, learn about the misconceptions of safe sex and participate in hands-on lessons in what can diseases and infections such as STDs and HIV. Not only is this offered at Stagg, but as well at Edison and is hoping to expand to more schools.

The facilitator, Katrina Alvarez, comes to Stagg every Tuesday when a class is to be taught. Typically comprised of 10 attendees, students are put in same sex classes. With a bigger demand for attending would come the need to expand the class to accommodate a larger turnout and the opportunity of hosting co-ed classes.

Some students who have attended more than once believe the class has information that everyone should know. A student who vaguely learned about reproductive health her freshman was grateful for the refresher in her senior year. “I like how it was just the girls in one classroom because it made talking about sex much better. Guys are kind of childish,” the student who preferred to stay anonymous said.

Judy Masterson, from Delta Health Care, is their reproductive health nurse who is available every Wednesday to anyone who wishes to be tested for potential pregnancies and STDs or receive birth control. “I think it’s a great program,” Masterson said. “I benefit from the ‘Be Proud’ program because students come to me not knowing that we offer things like birth control here in the health office.”

She wishes this program would be offered at every high school in SUSD. A priority of theirs is to teach teenagers to be safe. “I also think that it’s really good, especially when talking to young women, to let them know by using birth control that that puts them on charge.”

Be Proud! Be Responsible! is a six hour course about safe-sex education that occurs during the school day. “It brings an awareness to Stagg about sex, reproductive health and positive, correct information in an environment where we want people to feel comfortable,” Alvarez said. She thinks that one of the biggest obstacles they face is recruiting students and overcoming the stigma of teenagers believing they know enough therefore in no need to attend the class.

As an incentive, Be Proud! Be Responsible! Offers a free movie ticket at the end of the class to all who attend. “We know at the end of the day they’re going to learn a lot and that’s the benefit,” Alvarez said.