Especially for Students of Color

History has shown us that communities of color have special needs and values regarding their sexual health. As a member of the Cornell community, you may be wondering if Gannett has what it takes to meet your personal health needs, and if your privacy will be protected if you come to us for care. We encourage you to check out the "Who We Are" section of this website in order to address some of these questions.

In the Fall, 2004, a Gannett Health Promotion Assistant conducted a poll at Ujamma to ask students what information they would like to see on a sexual health webpage.  The following list identifies the topics of interest and the percentage of respondents who listed that topic:

Maintaining Abstinence               26%
Sexual decisionmaking               26%
Making sex better                      21%
Anatomy and sexual response     17%
Same sex relationships               10%

Maintaining abstinence can be difficult in a climate that flaunts sexual activity through popular media including movies, songs, and magazines. On a college campus, it can be especially challenging because students misjudge the amount of sexual activity going on. (Data from the 2002 NCHA survey on campus confirmed that students overestimated the amount of sexual activity other students were engaging in.) This misperception adds additional pressure. Check out the tips for maintaining abstinence on this website for support for your decisions.

Sexual decision-making requires forethought and trust in one's own beliefs and attitudes about sexual activity. Sexual decision-making is a common dilemma that college students face. Should you decide to engage in sexual activity, what kinds of interactions do you want to have? Healthy sexual interactions require communication, exploration and trust, whether engaged with members of a different sex/gender or the same sex.

In the coming months we will continue to develop these topics. As we do so, please continue to tell us what matters most to you by sending us an e-mail so we can best serve the individuals and communities here at Cornell.