OPINION
SUM:
“Sexing Under the Influence
of Intoxicants”
•When you're drunk, you’ll have sex with someone
who normally you wouldn't even have lunch with — ”
— Richard Keeling. M D
Dr Richard Keeling, past chair
of the American College Health
Association AIDS Task Force
visited the University of Oregon
campus this past October with
some interesting nows on col
lege life, sex and alcohol Nor
mally. we wouldn t associate
AIDS with a Friday night happy
hour phasing into a party or a
night at the bars, but there's
good reason to begin keeping
this connection in mind
AIDS is no longer a headliner
on the newsstand The issue has
grown news weary but the dis
ease is still rampant Consider
this the average age of a person
first discovering s/he has AIDS is
32 It can take up to 10 years for
the HIV virus to incubate before
symptoms manifest ten years'
Statistically, then, people are po
tentially becoming exposed in
college or during college, carry
mg the virus and passing it on to
others
Consider these 1988 statistics
from a national survey of college
students
• 81'., had intercourse during
college (were sexually active),
• 60° didn't use condoms,
• 97 ’ understood condoms
prevent the spread of HIV
One might argue "if you know
your partner then you won t need
a condom." In regard to the im
portance of knowing your part
ner, another 1988 survey indicat
ed that it is extremely common
for partners to lie about their
sexual history and practices
Furthermore, unwanted sex on
campuses is a major problem
that includes more than rape Dr
Keeling showed startling stabs
tics where a majority of surveyed
students (both male and female)
reported at least one experience
ot unwanted sex To explain this,
he needed only one
word alcohol Let s tace it.
when you're drunk you II have
sex with someone who normally
you wouldn t even have lunch
with He strongly emphasized
that mixing sex and alcohol is
extremely dangerous t)o< ause al
cohol greatly impairs sensible
judgment
Advertising plays heavily on
sex to sell alcohol (as well as nu
merous other products) making
it difficult not to mix sex and al
cohol E3ut with these messages,
what cultural morals are present
ed9 Can we simultaneously val
ue abstinence (or at least sexual
sensibility) and the sexual nu
ances ot the steamiest ads9
Basically, relates Keeling, to
reduce the spread of HIV we
need to change behaviors by
building skills This means more
than just say no to sex We
need to build assertive commu
mcation skills, sex without inter
course skills, sex without alco
hoi skills and skill in using con
doms, planning ahead so they
are available Like any skill these
take practice to master
Finally, students on college
campuses like anyone, must be
responsible tor their own health
and future We must value our
bodies more than any single rela
tionship or one night ot wild
abandonment We must also
work toward building esteem ot
ourselves and our peers so that
healthy behaviors not sexing
under the influence -are re
speeded not ridiculed
By Annie Dochnahl
GTF, Health Education;
Out Reach Coordinator
HIGH = HIGH RISK
How many limes have you read a newspaper, an article or a pam
phlet where the emphasis of the information cites a statistic'5 Or,
turned on the television and heard those percentages reiterated with
each news station you turned to and what happens to your
thought processes when you hear those percentages again, and
again, over and over"5 Do they have an impact on you or hold any
meaning"5 Or do they become scrambled with all the previous per
centages heard last year9 What do they mean and how important are
they9
Well, once again here is another article citing statistics; but. read
more carefully and hopefully their meaning may have an impact
• On most college campuses, between 87 and 93 o of all students
drink alcohol
• By 1991 the National Centers for Disease Control (CDC) predicts
AIDS will be the number one killer on college campuses
So why should those numbers hold meaning for you9 First, you
are part of a college campus Look around and you can see that
drinking is a central activity Decisions regarding the use (or relative
abuse) of alcohol can affect your life Alarmingly high numbers of
students are treated tor alcohol overdose on college campuses each
year Next college is a time when many individuals develop their
knowledge and values regarding sexuality And U S campus life is a
center for non monogamous sexual activity
Various studies throughout the country estimate that between 40
and 70 percent of students are sexually active Your choices to be
sexual, not to be sexual and who your sexual partners are, are impor
tant AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases are becoming
more prevalent among people 20 24 years old and on college cam
puses today According to Dr Richard Keeling, past chair of the
American College Health Association AIDS Task Force, thousands
of students are carriers of the disease Others estimate that between
30,000 and 80,000 students on American college campuses carry a
contagious form of the AIDS virus If U of O is included, approxi
mately 60 100 students here, potentially carry the virus These peo
ple have or carry the AIDS virus in the blood but are asymptomatic
(without symptoms) and in good health
So what is in the meaning of the statistics previously cited? Col
lege students need to become aware of the connection between al
cohol other drugs and AIDS High High Risk Alcohol impairs )udg
ment therefore lowering your ability to make decisions you might
otherwise not make Mixing alcohol with sex distorts your judgment
in choosing to be sexual, and with whom you will have sex and
whether or not precautions will be taken The combination of these
two behaviors puts you at a high risk for HIV infection and other
STD s along with unplanned pregnancies, pressured sex and/or ac
quamtance rape
Perhaps you might not like to pay attention to statistics or to think
about their meaning but do not lull yourself into denial either
Think about your behaviors which create the statistics think about
your behaviors
Joanne Frank.
Director of Health Education
Student Health Center
MOCKTAIL:
A simph splendid drink that \ou
can drink and drink and still count your finders forwards and
back and awaken refreshed and clear-headed the next morning.
Strawberry Smoothie
I cup ot trcsh strawberries or strawberrx
concentrate
'r blender ot ice
I cup ol eithei milk, buttermilk, plain or
\antlla yoyurt
Blend until troths
* add a dash ot sugar it needed
Spritzers
Mix 7 up ssith orange |uice. pineapple |uiee
or a juice mixture.
Add a splash ot lemon juice or sweet and
sour to emus based spritzers
Mix in a blender ssith ice to form a frozen
punch
Fruit Spritzers
'4 blender ot ice. orange juice concentrate
and 7 up
Blend until bubble l’our into a punch boss I
and garnish ssith orange sherbet (sanilla ice
mild also makes this delicious!)
Fruit Frappe
lresh straw berries (or Iro/en) or bananas
'j blender ot lee
‘ ■ cup milk and '4 cup halt and halt
Blend until troth)
* l or a low tat version, use buttermilk or
plain yogurt
* Add a dash ot sugar to taste
Nada Colada
'4 blender ot ice
'<4 cup coconut syrup
'4 crushed pineapple
'cup orange juice
1: cup milk
Blend until frothy
Yogurt Shake
Choose your favorite frozen yogurt flavor.
I ill blender 1: full and add milk to thin
I luovv m blueberries, strawberries or
bananas and blend until smooth
Mocktail essentials:
Mix and match these basic ingredients and create your own
frothy, fruit) beverages
F ruit juice concentrate grape, grapefruit, orange
Ice cubes or shaved ice.
For creamy drinks sherbet, ice milk, frozen yogurt, plain
yogurt, buttermilk, vanilla yogurt and lemon yogurt, milk, half
and half.
^ Basic mixers collins mix, 7-up. lime juice, lemon juice and
margarita mix.
^ Don't forget fruit garnishes orange slices, cherries, lemon
slices, and lime squeezes.