It's inevitable: during summer tours of UCSB, someone always asks about our apparently astronomically high STI rate. As it turns out, only 6% of UCSB students have an STI, according to Janice and John Baldwin’s random sample of UCSB's sexually active student body. There’s even data that shows that the STI rate has decreased in the last eight years due to more condom use.

So why the persistent rumor that UCSB is a primordial hotbed for sexually transmitted infections? Since that was a rhetorical question, here are some facts (thanks to Soc 152A) on our STIs:

• Only 6% of UCSB students have one
• Only 1% of sexually active UCSB students have had Pubic Lice
• Only 1% of sexually active UCSB students have had Chlamydia, which makes it extremely uncommon compared with the 3-5 million new cases in the U.S.A. each year
• 3% of sexually active UCSB students have had Genital Warts; it’s more common for UCSB females--scary, as 1/3 of genital warts are precancerous in women
• 3% of sexually active UCSB students have had Genital Herpes

So celebrate your cleanliness by picking up some free condoms and lube at the Women's Center.