Educating college students on female health is a task that graduate students Jayci Stewart and Maggie Bollinger believe is crucial.
“Maybe you didn’t have somebody to sit you down and explain everything to you, so I think that it’s super important just to get this information,” Bollinger said.
On Monday, the Health Education Resource Center (HERC) held At Your Cervix, a presentation designed to help educate Eastern’s female student body about their reproductive health.
The hour-long presentation was led by first-year speech pathology graduate students, Stewart and Bollinger in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.
The event covered a wide array of feminine health topics such as, vaginal and sexual health, hygiene, sexually transmitted infections, consent, birth control options and more.
Bollinger and Stewart also emphasized the importance of breast health, since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“I just like that’s important because a lot of girls don’t realize that breast cancer can happen at a young age,” Stewart said. “So it’s important to cover it with college students as well.”
The presentation also discussed the importance of pap smears, which women should begin getting at the age of 21. Pap smears check for cervical cancer which can be caused by human papillomavirus (HPV).
Stewart also said that there are over 100 different kinds of HPV, which makes the virus very common. Although the virus usually goes away on its own with time, it is important to make sure the virus does not lead to a more serious problem.
Consent is highlighted in all of the HERC’s sexual health presentations.
Bollinger and Stewart also hold a Rubber Lover event, which discusses the importance of condoms and consent.
“People don’t realize that you have to ask for consent every step of the way during a sexual act,” Stewart said.
Since the presentation during At Your Cervix is fairly short, Bollinger and Stewart hold discussion time as well.
All the attendees are usually women, which creates a comfortable environment for conversations concerning feminine health.
“I feel like it’s more comfortable coming from girls that are all around the same age instead of just like a teacher coming up here and telling you that ‘you need to do this, you need to do that’ when we’re all going through the same thing,” Stewart said. “So just, I think hearing it from your peers is better and more comfortable.”
Although Bollinger and Stewart held an At Your Cervix event in August for the female residents in Pemberton Hall, this is the first open event they have led. Another open At Your Cervix event will be held during the month of December.
Audra Gullquist can be reached at 581-2812 or at agullquist@eiu.edu.
