SAU Honors College

The SAU Honors College was founded in 2003 by Dr. David Rankin, president of SAU. Dr. Lynne Belcher served as founding director and is retired from SAU. The Honors College seeks and admits qualified students who seek to pursue a serious academic program with equally gifted peers and committed teachers. Honors classes are small and provide academically enriching opportunities for students and the faculty who teach them. Currently, SAU enrolls nearly 170 honors students and graduates about 66% of admitees in four years or less. Anyone interested in applying to the Honors College or seeking further information should contact the director, Dr. Edward P. Kardas at epkardas@saumag.edu or at 870 904-8897.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Eubanks, Kelsea: Teens and Contraception


With the many forms of birth control that are available to teens, there are multiple opinions and questions that accompany their use. The issue today isn’t whether or not adolescents should be offered contraception but which one is more effective and preferred.
                  In the first article by Milly Dawson, she mainly focuses on parents’ view of birth control methods and their acceptance of each. For the majority of parents, birth control pills and condoms are more widely accepted compared to others such as IUDs, implants, and patches. Their reasoning isn’t as accurate as they think it is. They believe that by using birth control pills and condoms (short-acting contraceptive methods), their teens aren’t in a long term sexual relationship. The author is trying to convey to parents that although condoms and birth control pills might seem like a better way to go since they are not long acting, they actually might not be the best choice in the long run. A condom could break or their child could forget to take the pill, resulting in pregnancy or STD. Other birth control methods can be more effective, such as IUDs, which is what the author of the second article discusses.
                  The second article by Charles Bankhead is aimed mostly towards IUDs, also known as intrauterine devices and implants. Using this method of birth control causes parents to be uncomfortable because it is a long acting.  According to the ACOG, this is the most effective way of protection. Bankhead’s goal is to convey that although most teens prefer condoms and birth control pills, long term methods such as IUDs are the best way to go if they are going to be sexually active at all. Using these long acting methods could help decrease the percentage of unplanned pregnancies of adolescents.
Even though the best way to avoid pregnancy and STDs is abstinence, most teens are sexually active. The main purpose of both of the articles is to teach parents and adolescents the importance of contraception and which methods would be more effective.

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