[The following post is courtesy of Vanessa Cullins, M.D., Vice President of Medical Affairs at Planned Parenthood. Upon speaking with Vanessa and asking for information on STDs we began discussing HIV/AIDS. Naively, I mentioned that college kids are safe and know to protect themselves against this deadly disease. Turns out, I was wrong, and thinking that way is incredibly dangerous.]

Once in a while, we get a variation of this question via e-mail: “I’m a woman in college, and I’m wondering if I still need to be worried about getting HIV. Isn’t it pretty much under control by now?”

HIV/AIDS is definitely still a threat — especially among young people and women. Today, women account for more than one-quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses, and women of color are especially affected by HIV infection and AIDS. The growing complacency about this deadly disease is alarming.  You cannot tell from looking at someone whether that person is infected with HIV or any other sexually transmitted disease (STD). That is why all sexually active people need to protect themselves against HIV.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that more than 56,000 women and men are infected with HIV every year. And the American College Health Association has found that the rate of HIV infection among college students is about the same as it is for the general public. It seems that a lot of people — especially women — aren’t getting the message.

So what’s a girl to do?

First, get tested regularly. Know your status and the status of your partners. Planned Parenthood Federation of America has partnered with MTV and the Kaiser Family Foundation to launch the GYT — Get Yourself Tested — campaign. Visit http://gyt09.org to get information you can rely on about STDs, including HIV, and find your nearest testing location.

Second, plan your safer-sex strategy. Condoms used correctly and consistently are the best protection against HIV and other STDs, including HPV, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. Condoms reduce the risk of HIV infection substantially.  In fact, aside from abstinence and other forms of intimacy that result in no contact with another person’s genitals, condoms are the best protection against HIV.  Some studies show that about one out of two college students used a condom the last time they had sex. That’s good. But it also means that one of two didn’t.  And that’s not good — that’s a whole lot of people playing Russian roulette with contracting HIV/AIDS.

Having a good safer-sex strategy means knowing your risks and deciding which ones you are willing to take.  Here’s a step-by-step walk-through of some of your options:

•    Use a latex or female condom during vaginal, oral, and anal sex.
•    If you are not using a condom, it’s safer to have oral sex than vaginal or anal sex.
•    Rubbing against your partner, whether clothed or naked, is safer than sexual intercourse. Rubbing against your partner clothed is even safer.
•    If you and your partner are engaged in mutual fondling, it is safer to wash your hands before touching your own genitals.
•    Masturbating alone or together — or having phone sex or cybersex — is the safest sex option.

But the most important safer-sex strategy of all is to assume that all potential partners may be infected — and then take precautions.  The reality is that people will lie in order to have sex.  Another reality is that many people with HIV don’t know it!  Given these odds, you can’t rely on anyone else to protect you.

Remember: all sexually active people are at risk, and we need to protect ourselves.

WTF is up with Lindsay Lohan?

Are Drew Barrymore and Mac Guy back together?

Beyonce is making us dumb.

Light jeans are officially here.

New female condom gets FDA approval.

ASU builds a faith-based dorm?

The most successful college dropouts.

I now hate Reese Witherspoon even more.

Your badunk may be good for your health.

DVF: The City vs. Real Life.

Is that…Channing Tatum?

Online education is just as good as the other stuff?

As if women didn’t have to bear enough of the birth control burden: paying for The Pill every month and remembering to take it every day (not to mention all those lovely hormonal side-effects). Now we have the option of purchasing yet another contraceptive and dealing with the discomforts of using it.

Super!

Because there are no other options, like, I don’t know, something men can use? Oh, right – like a condom. But those are annoying and expensive and they make sex feel weird (according to men). Why should guys have to suffer when a woman can just do it all? She’s the one who is gonna get pregnant, anyway; she should be the one taking care of all that business.

And this new female condom (cleverly called FC2: Female Condom 2) seems just so easy to use!

The product is a long, lubricated sheath, anchored at either end by a flexible ring. Upon insertion, the smaller ring surrounding the closed end of the sheath is positioned high in the vagina while the larger ring extends outside the canal and covers the labia.

I can imagine just how romantic it will be when everything has to stop so you can shove a giant Ziploc bag up there. That is if the sight of one of these things isn’t enough to kill the mood entirely. The only plus side to this condom is the fact that you eliminate user error on the part of men. You never can trust them to get those things on right (or at all…you saw Knocked Up!).

But that isn’t enough for me. I am sick of everyone putting the birth control responsibility on the woman. It takes two to tango, so it should take 2 to do so safely. If women are taking care of the pills, then men should be responsible for the rest.

It’s only fair.

[For many of us, sex and college go together like Uggs and snow - you can’t have one without the other. So, we brought in one of Berkeley’s finest sex columnists, Elizabeth, to start a dialogue about the topic (and act) that is very near and dear to our hearts. Every Thursday she will get your day goin’ with a little somethin’ somethin’ that’s on her mind.]

Rubber, love glove, cock sock, willie warmer…the list goes on and on. When it comes to condoms, girls tend to believe in two distinct condom states – he either has one or he doesn’t have one. To guys, however, condom choice is a highly personal selection. The condom he chooses reflects various aspects about his emotional (and physical) attributes. Think of it as his sexual zodiac sign of sorts. Kinda gives a whole new meaning to the pick up line, “So, what’s your sign?”

The Magnum: You know what they say about guys with big condoms….Big egos. Whether he is XL or not, this guy wants to be sure that you think he’s got the goods. Now I’m no expert, but I’m guessing about ½ of all guys that own Magnum condoms use them for decoration only, not for any functional purpose. Unfortunately for him, if it’s all purely for show, odds are his bluff will be called by the time the night is through.

The Coscto Size: One time when I was hooking up with some guy he had to run downstairs to borrow a condom from a friend (more embarrassing for me or him, I’m not sure). When I went back the next weekend, there was a jumbo pack of condoms sitting at eye level right next to his bed. Now I understand if he wants to pick up a stash to prevent future humiliation, but does he really need to make the trip to Costco to buy a 200-pack of condoms? Usually, the Costco guys get a little ahead of themselves. Just calmly remind him that no, you will not be having sex with him four times a day for the next two months.

Her Pleasure: Awww how nice. He wants you to enjoy yourself. Or he wants you to think that he wants you to enjoy yourself so that you’ll put out and then he’ll get to enjoy himself. Damn are they confusing.

Female Condom: I have personally never had the pleasure of an awkward female condom proposition, but I would take it as a sign that this guy wants me to do all the work. If faced with such a situation, I would probably give him a polite death stare while naming all of the things I do in the name of sex: take a daily pill, keep in shape, deal with cramps, childbirth….

Extended Pleasure: Well this guy just wants to keep on going and going and going…(okay, sorry for the tacky Energizer bunny reference.) I’m guessing that he is either insecure about his performance time or he wants to make it last in fear that he won’t get to bone you for awhile/until you get out of class.

Pleasure Pack: Variety is the spice of life, and this guy knows it. These tend to be my favorite guys – they’re spontaneous and I know they’re not lying about their intentions via their condom decisions. Is he gonna whip out the her-pleasure or the glow in the dark? I’m not sure, but at least I won’t need a mood ring or a crystal ball to be able to tell how he’s feeling that day…