UNM centers offer free condoms

Gonorrhea — nobody wants it. Yet, there has been a 67 percent increase in reported cases since 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Gonorrhea is not alone. The CDC estimates there are 1.7 million cases of chlamydia in the U.S., a 22 percent increase from 2013. Syphilis cases are also up by 76 percent.

The only sure-fire way to prevent getting a sexually transmitted disease or infection is to abstain from having sex.

If that seems like an impossible task, then the University of New Mexico LGBTQ Resource Center located at 1919 Los Lomas NE is a good place to visit. There you can pick up male condoms and literature about safe-sex practices.

According to the LGBTQ Resource Center’s website, they also keep female condoms, dental dams and lubricant on-hand.

The LGBTQ Resource Center, along with the Student Union Building ASUNM office, Casas Del Rio and 13 other locations around campus, participate in Student Health and Counseling Center’s Condom-Mint program.

The program, which began in Oct. 2011, supplies students with condoms and mints — free of charge, according to SHAC’s website.

Beyond safe sex, the World Health Organization (WHO) defines sexual health as “a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity.”

LoboRESPECT, who facilitate “The Grey Area” sexual misconduct prevention training, provide those experiencing violence in a relationship with advocacy and counselling.

The LoboRESPECT advocacy center can be reached over the phone at 505-277-2911, through email at loborespect@unm.edu, or in person at the University Advisement and Enrichment Center, room 262.

So when the time is right, grab a condom and a mint from more than 13 locations on campus and don’t get gonorrhea.

Justin Garcia is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers ASUNM. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter at @just516garc.