A few words about abstinence – You'd never know it from the way that college students are portrayed in films and on TV, but according to a 2001 Boynton survey, only 38% of 18- to 24-year-old ‘U’ undergrads (not married/engaged and not in an exclusive relationship) said they were sexually active in the last year.


Many students are not at risk for sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies because they are abstinent. SHADE strongly supports the decision of those students who choose to be abstinent. SHADE spends the majority of its time addressing safer sex strategies for those who choose to be sexually active because it is those students who are at greatest risk for negative consequences. For those who choose to be sexually active, risk can be reduced but not eliminated. The decisions of those who choose to be sexually active must be supported also.

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