Perceptions of Ball State University's poor sexual health have been challenged by two recent reports, which say Ball State is on par with other universities.
Ball State improved its ranking in the Trojan Sexual Health Report issued on Oct. 27.
Ranked 30 out of 141, Ball State moved up one spot from 2008 which Health Center Director Kent Bullis believes is negligible.
"It's likely that it's due to random data rather than improvement on our part," he said. "Now on the other hand, I'd rather see us moving up than down."
The report considers such components as contraceptive and condom availability, web site usability, outreach programs and student peer group accessibility.
Freshman Kylie Martin said she thinks the health center is a good thing, but it still has a lot of improvements to make.
"It's better than I thought," she said. "I always thought we were bad, but considering the students I know, the report sounds about right."
Sophomore Brad Miller also thinks it is an accurate ranking.
"We have a good health center," he said. "They give out free condoms and everything."
Despite students' perceptions, another recent report, the National College health Association Survey, identified Ball State's sexual health to be in line with other universities.
Health Educator Julie Sturek said Ball State's sexual health is normal, if not better than other universities.
"There's a misconception, but we are on par with other universities in terms of STIs and use of condoms and things like that," she said.
Some highlights of the report, issued in March 2009, identified the sexual activity among Ball State students. The report said 27 percent of Ball State students are abstinent, and of the students who are sexually active, 56.9 percent reported using a condom or other protective barrier within the last 30 days mostly or always.
Bullis said he has seen improvement in the overall sexual health of students on campus over the nine years that he has been director of the health center.
"In years past, I received phone calls from parents and high school guidance counselors asking about the sexual health of students on campus," he said. "But it's been a couple years since I've gotten those kinds of questions. I interpret it as the reputation has changed for the better. The number of sexually transmitted infections reported has not changed a great deal."
Sturek said there are outreach and peer groups in place to promote sexual health issues.
Last year the health education department gave 139 presentations collectively regarding sexual health, responsible nutrition, sustance abuse and other issues. On Tuesday she gave a presentation about contraceptives to a Psych Science 277 class. She said there are 32 peer health educators who help conduct these outreach programs, and they are trained by the health education department.
The Indiana State Department of Health is also concerned with the sexual health of its citizens and is calling for better data collection on acts of sexual violence, according to the Associated Press. Goals include engaging key demographic groups in state and local efforts to prevent sexual violence and providing technical assistance to prevention programs.
The Ball State Health Center hosts Sex Responsibility Week in February and promotes a safe Spring Break in March regarding safer sex and alcohol awareness, Sturek said.
Sturek said HIV and STI testing are available from the Delaware County Department of Health and Open Door Family Planning in Anderson, Ind.
For the last four years, Sperling's BestPlaces has conducted the Trojan-sponsored survey which is meant to promote awareness and discussion about sexual health.
President Bert Sperling said when the study was first issued, it only considered information from university health center web sites. In the last couple years the study has also added information from surveys addressed to university health directors and correspondence with students through Facebook, he said.
"We're still evolving the methodology," he said. "[Our company] specializes in qualitative reporting. There are some side effects that put Trojan in the positive light by promoting awareness of sexual health issues."
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