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UH-Manoa gets low grade for sex health

By Duane Shimogawa bio | email

MANOA (KHNL) - A sexual health report card gives the University of Hawaii at Manoa a failing grade. The Trojan Sexual Health Report Card is an annual ranking of colleges representing each state.

It measures the availability of sexual health resources and information to their students. UH-Manoa finished 111th out of 139 schools, a slide of nearly 70 spots since last year.

For the third year in a row, UH has dropped considerably in this sex health report card, from 45th in oh-six to 68th last year and down to 111th in the latest rankings.

The report evaluates schools on 13 criteria through independent research and student participation. schools are graded on sexual assault and awareness programs, student opinion of the health center, lecture and outreach programs, student peer groups, along with HIV and STD testing.

While some students are unhappy with the slumping results, others tell us they're surprised of the low ranking because of what they've experienced so far, especially at the health center.

"I went there and I actually liked it, like it was really fast and people were really friendly and they seemed very professional and that's really good," UH freshman Alayna Jardin said.

But not everyone is content about the health center.

"I think one of the major problems is their hours of operation, make it more convenient for the students and things like that, as well as educating them a little more," UH senior Jeremy Shibata said.

UH's health education coordinator Kristen Scholly tells KHNL/K5 in an E-mail that the report has no validity.

"It's not research, it's more of an opinion poll at best," she said. "The number of students surveyed was pretty small, a convenience sample of students who answered questions on-line."

Although the report doesn't go into detail about the ranking, some say the recent elimination of free on-campus HIV testing may have played a part in the low result.

"Initially when I hear that it's 111th out of 139, I'd really like it to be higher, partly because this is my university and I would like it to be part of the top rankings of the nation," Shibata said.

This year Stanford University finished first and Depaul University ended up last. Both HPU and Chaminade were not evaluated in the report.