Babies having babies has definitely become extremely outrageous and has become a bit of a trend.

But here at SMU so many girls are oblivious to the fact that if they have unprotected sex you can get pregnant. The atmosphere we live in makes us feel so safe that we are untouchable, but trust me, without the right precautions, we are no more protected than the next person.

We pride ourselves on being the best and sometimes I believe it blurs our reality and makes us think we are invincible to the dangers around us.

I would like you all to know motherhood is not an easy life style, and it’s certainly not as glamorous as it is portrayed on TV. Education is power so my desire is to spread the word not to just the female student body but the males as well. My goal is to deter our student body from participating in unprotected sex. It is all around us yet no one wants to talk about it.

Statistics show about one out of three girls will become young mothers. We have set ourselves in a bubble and we are doing our students a disservice by not promoting safe sex.

Yes, abstinence is the key but I truly feel that we should still provide safe alternatives to those who will choose to indulge in sexual activities anyway. We really do not realize how many of our students are effected because so many of them will drop out and not return the next semester.

By increasing our promotion of safe sex it will lower our dropout rate and retention will be increased. This will show our students we care not only about their academic success but their well being in general.

SMU should be apart of the solution not the problem. Regardless of whether or not we ignore the issue it will continue to be present right in front of our faces. Advertisers say sex sells, and I simply want to sell a more product version of this idea. We shouldn’t wait for a huge problem in order to take action. Lets be proactive as well as reactive.

Shana Ray is a sophomore communications studies major. She is also a Meadows Senator. She can be reached for comments or questions at [email protected].