A 1990 study of 166 students at the University of Connecticut found that 64 percent of the students interviewed had engaged in unprotected sex at least once. A 1995 study of undergraduates at a university in the Northwest found that about half of sexually active students rarely or never used a condom, but the majority of the students interviewed were comfortable discussing their sexual history prior to sexual relations. BU students show similar patterns. That is the attitude of a female sophomore, who says she uses other forms of birth control with her boyfriend. She said if she were to have sex with someone else she would use a condom to protect herself from AIDS and other STDs.
Students brush aside the dangers and think with their hormones, comments a male senior.
Some people think they are immune and some people are paranoid. As concern over contracting AIDS dwindles for many students, in the gay community where AIDS struck hard, the fear is more real. The outside community doesn't look as if they are as concerned. I see them hooking up all the time with random people. For the outside community, pregnancy is a much bigger risk.