[ARTICLES] Highschool STD Checks?

[M4ttTf]

So, not so long ago at school we had an assembly! It was all about how some random van called the 'B-Clear' van was going to be showing up at lunch and break
At first, we all wondered what it actually was! Well, take it this way - we found out pretty quickly and quite a few were not that impressed!

It was made clear that all Year 11 Students would be required to visit this van once during their day to get tested. Nothing more was said..
When we all found out.. 'were not that impressed!' ehh, you could say that. Some went in all happy and came back out crying (near enough) and others were just, basically pee'd off about what this van was doing here and why we had to get tested for whatever it was there for in the first place!

Read the article (by clicking HERE) to find out more and make sure you leave me your comments on your opinions of it!

-cough- I erm. I was clear. Obviously. hehe. I've been good. -cough-

[Gina]

thats so embarrassing n horrible 4 students lol theyd be better to come in n raise awareness and say like the local clinic where they could be tested
just educate as opposed to forcing them to get it done
its obv gonna cause a lot of gossip is anyone is positive for anything and anyone hears or they come out upset it'll be pretty obvious

[Cerys]

We had something quite similar to this in year 12, sexual awareness people came in (i cant remember who they were) and handed out freebies like condoms and lube, i got a sperm keyring which i am super proud of to this day x

Wasn't compulsory but we could get checked if we wanted to, we had to pee into this tiny test tube then seal it all up for them. I have to say tho for females it was near impossible, me and my friend had to wash our hands a lot after that cos yknow tiny test tubes and little to aim with rip (we got checked for a laugh as we were certain we'd be clean, which looking back on i dont really agree with cos its wasting their time;/)

all clear tho xxxx


as if they made it compulsory for you though??? I can't see how school can make anything like that compulsory - they don't even force you to get the jabs!
especially as it was for year 11s, like yeah i guess I'd be a teeny tiny (cant stress how little) bit more accepting if it was for yr 13 but 11?!? You're like 15/16 then pft

[Samantha]

We never had anything like that in high school, well actually, I think we did, but I somehow managed to miss all the sexual education classes until I was around 15 myself. However, we would never be forced into something like that, even at college we knew where it was to go and get tested, when the people were in to test you and that, but we weren't forced. Surely they can't force you to do something like that, especially without consent from your parents either. If that had happened in my school, I can guarantee a lot wouldn't have been clear.

In college it was worse due to people putting the wrong names down and they actually had something so they couldn't sort it out due to that!

[_HeyyItsHannah_]

I honestly quite feel this is a wonderful idea. I actually wish we had this at my school.

Is it embarrassing? Yeah. But results are confidential.

People don't realize how common STD's are.

In the US, 1 in 4 seniors (year 13) have been pregnant. 2 of those have chosen to abort.

4 in 10 sexually active teen girls have an STD that could eventually lead to infertility or even death.

1 in 5 Americans have an STD... 1 in 5...

This.. I can not stress how good of an idea this is for so so so so many reasons. Do I think you should be able to decline? Unless you have religious reasons, or a good reason, no.

Even if you have been screened before, there are false positives. They do happen.

If you have one, you are now aware. Most people don't even go to get checked because they are too embarrassed or don't know the symptoms which can lead to awful things. Including death.

If you have a bacterial STD, it is treatable, so treat it. All it takes is a small little antibiotic. Chlamydia is the most common STD for teens. Do you know how many teens we can prevent for getting this because of this company?

Let's put it this way.. Now this is a sensitive subject. But. I've encountered this issue

Let's say you were out at a party and got too drunk, or you got date-rape drugged, or even just taken advantage of in general. You really probably don't know the guy well enough or you're not mentally there enough to randomly ask the guy "Do you have an STD." No. That's not how it works.

For the girls and guys who are too embarrassed to go to the doctor, or a clinic for this reason, or other reasons, or just embarrassed in general, this could help. So. so. Much.

Teens don't know the symptoms. Instead of forcing student to get tested instead of educating them might help? could. but not likely to be as effective.

[Matt]

We never had anything like that at school. I think it's a good idea if it can be done discreetly and in confidence but not when it's in front of people and without being totally informed of what they're testing for.