Trojan Outreach prioritizes sexual health awareness with bedside bags

Sarah Campbell photo: Trojan Outreach volunteers hand out sexual health items on the quad.

Each year during the month of February, for Sexual Health Awareness Month, Trojan Outreach pushes an initiative to raise awareness and educate students about their sexual health.

“In college, many students start to experience sexual relationships with people, and, sometimes, we kind of start losing the focus of being safe or doing it right,” said Peer Educator Jazmin Laney, a senior psychology major from Midland City, Alabama.

According to an article on AL.com, Alabama ranked six in the nation for the highest STD rates in 2024, studies show. Based on a study done by finance website Insider Monkey in 2017, Troy University ranked third  among colleges with the highest STD rates in the country. These numbers show why it’s important for students to be aware and take the proper measures to protect their sexual health.

“Sexual health awareness is important because we want that number to go down,” Laney said. “Our main goal is to help prevent the spread of STIs and STDs.

“Even though it has gone down since previous studies, we want to make it to where we are not even on that top list of colleges.”

One way the organization helped prioritize students’ sexual health is by providing free bedside bags – each containing the resources students need to stay safe.

“These bags offer free period products, care packages and condoms, so students can take extra measures to protect their sexual health,” Laney said. “Students can just walk up to the table, take one and go.”

Many students may be scared or embarrassed to pick up the necessary items for safe sexual practices. A bedside bag table offered a quick and easy alternative for them to grab what they need.

The condoms included in the bags vary in size to offer different options to students. Laney said the inclusion of tampons and pads were a new addition to this year’s bedside bag – a change that was well-received.

“People have been a lot more open to grab stuff, especially because we now have more options,” Laney said. “Honestly, we’ve had a lot of requests for bedside since we started this.”

Trojan Outreach was very deliberate with the time they chose to distribute these bedside bags, as well. Setting up their table right around Valentine’s Day was a way to educate students on safe, healthy practices during a time where they might need the reminder.

“It’s good for us to be out here doing our bedside bag table because Valentine's Day can be an increased time for certain activities,” said Peer Educator Danielle Wormsby, a junior biology major from Birmingham, Alabama. “We just want to make sure that students are safe and that they're using protection if needed.”

Other activities Trojan Outreach held as a part of Sexual Health Awareness Month included free, confidential HIV and STI testing and a “reproductive health: myth or fact” game, where students could test their knowledge on sexual health.

Students who weren’t able to pick up a bedside bag are still able to reserve them through a QR code on Trojan Outreach’s Instagram. For more sexual health tips and reminders about upcoming events, students can visit the organization’s Instagram @trojan_outreach.