Speakers address drug use, STDs

Rebekka Armstrong and Jason Farrell do not want to keep students from having a good time. They simply want students to know what they are doing and with whom.\nThe former Playboy Model and businessman shared their perspectives on sexually transmitted diseases and drugs to more than 500 people Wednesday night at Assembly Hall. Both Armstrong and Farrell have had experience with drugs and STDs, and both experienced the effects firsthand.\n"It only takes once," said Armstrong, "It is not worth it to put your life at risk for a few minutes ... of pleasure."\nFarrell, executive director of the Positive Health Project, was diagnosed with AIDS in 1993. "Use a condom. If you are going to use drugs, be safe," he said.\nAccording to the Interfraternity Council Web site, all chapters were required to send at least 80 percent of their members to the speech.\nSteve Gordon, a senior and vice president of programming for the IFC, was a co-coordinator of the evening. Gordon said the quota was set because the topic is pertinent to students at IU. Gordon also said this event was open to all, not just the greek system.\nFarrell highlighted the impact of STDs in Indiana. State statistics indicate that there are 6,128 people in Indiana with HIV, and that the most likely candidates for sexually transmitted diseases are young caucasian males, he said.\n"If you think you are a tough guy, think about this: How would you react if someone told you you were HIV positive?" Farrell asked.\nArmstrong contracted HIV when she was only 16 years old. She had had sex with seven people by the time she later learned of her status.\n"When I found out ... I lost it. All I knew about HIV was death," she said.\nCollege-age women are at a particular risk as well, Farrell said.\n"You are the perfect age to go out with guys my age or younger, they may be eight to 10 years older than you," he said. "In that eight to 10 years more experience over you, they might have done things that they might not have been so proud of."\nFarrell cited a survey of 65,000 college students across the country about their "recreational activities." Of the students, 85 percent had used alcohol, 4 percent had used cocaine and 11 percent had used some sort of hard drug, he said. \nBut Farrell was not frightened by the numbers of usage.\n"The scary thing about this is the consequences of the drug use," he said.\nThe study revealed that 33 percent of those who used drugs had memory loss, 39 percent had done something they would later regret, 52 percent experienced forced sexual touching and 46 percent had unwanted sexual intercourse, Farrell said.\n"Drugs are dangerous, and they kill people. The same way cigarettes and alcohol and cars kill people, too."\nBut when people approach Farrell for help in dealing with their drug addiction, he said he hands them a new needle rather than preaching abstinence. This exchange program is just one of the services the Positive Health Project offers. Farrell recognizes that quitting any addiction is difficult, and if you must continue, be safe and try to progressively cut down, he said.\nSensing a lull in the enthusiasm of the crowd, Farrell changed from the slides of graphic representations of different drugs, to graphic pictures of male and female genitalia infected with different STDs. \n"You just don't know. Don't think you do, because you don't," he said.\nArmstrong pleaded with the audience to be careful and practice safe sex.\n"You have got to put a latex barrier between you and the bodily fluids that could contain the HIV virus."\nStudents seemed to appreciate the message in the speech.\n"They talked with us instead of at us," said sophomore Brian Donahue. "It's something in Indiana, not just a big city thing. It is a problem that affects all of us."\nGordon said he considered the night successful.\n"I think a lot of people are going to think twice about when they do things now," he said.