Free condoms, resources push UF into top 15 in sexual health

Free condoms at UF have helped put the university in the top 15 of a national ranking.

In the 11th annual Trojan Sexual Health Report Card Rankings, UF ranked 13 out of 140 universities and colleges nationwide. The report looks at the sexual health resources and information available to students, wrote Sophia Feleke, a public relations representative from Edelman, a communications marketing firm, in an email.

Bert Sperling, the lead researcher of the report, grades the schools on 11 categories, which include the availability of contraceptives and HIV testing on campuses, she said.

“Sperling’s BestPlaces researchers collected extensive data via student health center representatives,” Feleke, who gathered the information from Sperling, said.

Catherine A. Seemann, the communications coordinator at the Student Health Care Center, said organizations like GatorWell, the SHCC and the Counseling & Wellness Center work to promote positive sexual health.

Seemann said the health care center works to create a more inclusive atmosphere.

“One of the big things we’ve done — we did this a couple years ago — was we separated sex assigned at birth, which we have to have in order to bill insurance for certain

services, and gender identity,” Seemann said.

The center also gives out free condoms and lubricants to promote safe sex, she said.

By working with UF organizations like LGBTQ Affairs and Pride Student Union, Seemann said she hopes to get the university ranked higher.

“Obviously, like everything at UF, we wanna get in the top 10,” she said.