There is a universal truth about STDs: nobody wants one.

When hooking up with the person of your dreams (or the person of the night), you fervently wish that that person does not have a STD. And yet they may have one.

People transfer them — knowingly or unknowingly — all the time, Guilford students included.

“There has been an increase in the number of students coming to be tested or referred for testing with most coming back positive with one disease or another,” Director of Student Health Helen Rice said in an email interview. “Both men and women are on the increase.”

It is no secret that a reputation for promiscuity follows Guilford students. And with the increasing number of STDs, it seems students have been neglecting condoms.

There are several possibilities as to why.

The first is that an underground activist group exists at Guilford, convincing students that landfills are overflowing with condoms.

If that is the case, then you are in luck. You can buy Glyde’s “premium ethical and vegan condoms” online. Great for you and the environment.

The second, and much more reasonable explanation, is that it just does not feel as good with a condom.

But do you know what else feels bad?

Painful urination, burning discharge, and painful swollen lumps.

So is relatively short-term pleasure worth a possibly life-long disease? I would think not, and I bet your privates would agree.

None of you need anyone telling you the dangers of unprotected sex. Most of us have heard that since middle school. But, with today’s medical advancements, the threat of STDs does not seem nearly as frightening.

Medical treatment options exist for virtually any imaginable STD. Antibiotics for bacterial infections. Other drugs for viral infections.

Disease treatability stifles our fear of STDs.

However, medicine offers a false sense of security.

According to ABC News, scientists have discovered a strain of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea in Japan.

Imagine that: one of the most common types of STD is untreatable.

Gonorrhea can cause painful skin, blood, and organ infection, infertility and death.

This is not the first case of bacteria evolving alongside antibiotics, and it will not be the last.

If our rampant use of antibiotics continues, other bacteria will grow to resist them also. Our generation’s irresponsibility should not exhaust the possibilities of medical treatment for the next generation.

Guilford often prides itself on community and natural responsibility. With so many activists in one place, we should understand that the health of our community is worth our attention and action.

But it is not only about helping the community. We owe it to ourselves and to our partners. Nobody wants to live with an STD, but it is happening right now. You can help stop this growing trend.

As I mentioned earlier, nobody needs to tell you to wear a condom; you should know to do that already. But here it is anyway: wear one.