Bulletin Board Idea for St. Patty’s Day and Sex Education: Getting Lucky Tonight

1. Bulletin Board Idea for St. Patty’s Day and Sex Education: Getting Lucky Tonight It is important to promote safe sex. Here is a bulletin board for the month of March, "Getting Lucky Tonight?". The board can be decorated with shamrocks and is a play on words for the "Luck of the Irish." The board can also decorated with condoms and the sexual responsibility information that follows. Stop by the Student Counseling Center (Student Services Bldg., Lower Level) if you need condoms for this bulletin board.

2. Getting Lucky Tonight?

3. Alcohol and Sex: Lack of it • Myth: Having several drinks make sex better. • Fact: Alcohol lowers inhibitions around sexual desires, heavy drinking dulls sensation and the ability to reach orgasm. • Kill your sex drive. • Numbs the nerve endings in both male and female genitalia. Takes more stimulation to produce an arousal and orgasm. • Decreases female lubrication and can lead to painful sex. • Affects the rational processes of the brain. • Can increase one's expectations for the sexual experience, yet decrease desire, arousal and satisfaction. • In large amounts may compromise the effectiveness of low-dose oral contraceptives. • It increases the liver's metabolism (we all know alcohol is bad for the liver), and the liver starts turning testosterone into estrogen. With lowered testosterone levels, men experience erectile dysfunction and over prolonged use may grow breasts! (http://www.indiana.edu/~kisiss/topics/alcohol.html ) • Better sex is achieved through knowing what your body likes and communicating that with your partner. 

4. Alcohol and Sex: Unexpected pregnancies • In 67% of unplanned pregnancies, the woman reported being drunk. If you vomit within two hours of taking the pill, it may not work. • A woman who drinks alcohol during pregnancy risks giving birth to an abnormal child with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). A child born with FAS has a pattern of mental and physical defects. • Growth deficiency is one of the most common physical defects of FAS. Most infants with FAS weigh less and are shorter than normal infants. The head size is smaller than normal too. These youngsters never catch up to normal growth and will always be smaller than other children of the same age. • FAS babies may have malformed faces. They have narrow eyes, low nasal bridges, short upturned noses and thin upper lips. Many of these babies also have heart and joint abnormalities. • Mental retardation is the most serious mental defect associated with FAS. (http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5534.html )

5. Alcohol and Sex: Sexual Assault • What is the definition of sexual assault? • Sexual assault is defined as the full range of forced sexual acts, including touching or kissing, verbally coerced intercourse, and vaginal, oral and anal penetration. • What is the definition of rape? • Rape is defined as a sexual assault that involve some type of penetration due to force or threat of force, and where there is lack of consent, or inability of the victim to provide consent due to age, intoxication or mental status.

6. Alcohol and Sex: Sexual Assault • 90% of all campus rapes occur when alcohol has been used by either the assailant or the victim. • Drinking often leads to sexual assault and rape. Why? • Alcohol can alter self-perceptions, leading some people to feel more aggressive and powerful. • Drinking can also cause men and women to misread non-verbal cues and therefore misunderstand a person’s desire or intention. • More than 70,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.

7. Alcohol Poisoning • What to look for: • Person is unconscious or semiconscious and cannot be awakened. • Cold, moist, pale or bluish skin. • Slow, shallow breathing with ten seconds or more between breaths. • Vomiting while sleeping or passed out, and not waking up after vomiting. • What to do: • Get Help. Call 911 • Do not leave the person alone. • Turn the person on his/her side to prevent choking in case of vomiting. • Always be “better safe than sorry.” Do not let worries about being in trouble or paying the bill stop you from saving a life.

8. Emergency Numbers • Terre Haute Regional Hospital Emergency Room • 237-1621 • Union Hospital Emergency Room • 238-7523 • Public Safety – ISU Campus Aid • 237-5555 • Poison Control Center • 1-800-382-9097 • WHEN IN DOUBT CALL 911 • For transportation: • 24-hour Cab Services • Dependable Cab 232-1122 • Terre Haute Cab 232-1313 • Yellow Cab 478-5322 • For more information contact Student Health Promotions at 237-3939

9. Chlamydia • Information obtained from http://www.ashastd.org/stdfaqs/chlamydia.html on 10.13.2004 • What is chlamydia?Chlamydia is a common and curable infection caused by the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis. The bacteria target the cells of the mucous membranes including: • the surfaces of the urethra,vagina, cervix and endometrium • the fallopian tubes • the anus and rectum • the lining of the eyelid • and less commonly, the throat. • How common is chlamydia?In the United States, chlamydia is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted disease (STD), particularly among sexually active adolescents and young adults. In 2000, 702,093 cases of chlamydia were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, it is estimated that 3 million cases actually occurred and as many as one in 10 adolescent females test positive for chlamydia.

10. Common STI MisconceptionsInformation obtained from http://www.smartersex.org/stis/sti_misconceptions.asp on 10.14.2004 • If I only engage in oral sex, I can't contract a sexually transmitted infection • The TruthSTIs can be transmitted through oral sex, vaginal sex, anal sex and in some cases, heavy petting. Penile penetration is not a prerequisite for disease transmission. In fact, the number of cases of gonorrhea of the throat are increasing! • If I have an STI, I will recognize the symptoms immediately • The TruthIn most women (and some men), there are often virtually NO symptoms of STIs. Not only can a partner not tell if a woman or man has an STI, the person with the STI often does not know. • I am not promiscuous and neither are the people I hang out with…it's unlikely that the people I would sleep with would be carrying something • The TruthFemales are more susceptible to acquiring STIs than males because their anatomy is more prone to infection in general. In addition, contracting STIs has nothing to do with cleanliness or grooming. Contracting an STI has everything to do with being intimate with someone who is already infected. The more partners you have or have had, the greater your chances of having an STI. The more partners your partner has or has had, the greater your partner's chances of having a STI. • I can avoid infection and pregnancy if I douche immediately following sexual intercourse • The TruthSome women believe that flushing the vagina with water or antiseptic is good hygiene, and prevents infection or pregnancy. However, douching does not prevent infection and may cause problems by destroying useful bacteria in the vagina which help keep the area healthy. It's just easier to use a condom!