North Texas Daily

Sarah Shellam | Contributing Writer

Halloween is usually associated with costumes, pumpkins, candy and scary pranks. But UNT is adding a new and helpful tradition to the holiday.

The Health and Wellness Center is conducting half-price STD testing through Thursday, Oct. 29 as a part of its Halloween themed “Test or Treat” campaign, helping students get tested at an affordable price.

“We have it every semester,” said Cara Sexton, a senior psychology major who works in the Health and Wellness Center. “We call it different things to pull students to come.”

The exam, which tests for HIV, gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia, is always offered in the center but sold at a discounted price twice times a year.

“We try and do the half-price testing at least once per semester: one in the fall and one in the spring,” manager of marketing and outreach Kerry Stanhope said. “We’ve done the Treat one three times.”

The package is normally sold for $68 at the Health and Wellness Center and could be as much as $200 at other facilities, Stanhope said. But during Test or Treat the test will be offered for $34.

“Around this time a lot of students are getting out of their homes. There’s a lot of freedom and I think that without available and affordable testing, there will be a lot more unhappy people,” music junior Skylar Harrison said. “It’s extremely important to get tested.”

Data released from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that one in four college students has an STD, and Texas ranked No. 11 on the list of states with the highest rates of reported STDs in 2013.

“The problem is because students just don’t know,” media arts junior Conrad Bahr said. “We need to be in there figuring out what is going on.”

For the half-priced testing, Stanhope said the center averages 40 students per test offered which is a high number for them compared to the other test they offer.

“If you want to prevent STDs, whatever you’re going to use, just make sure there is a barrier between you and your partner so you don’t have skin to skin contact,” Stanhope said.

For the students who choose to pass on this discounted offer, the center has fliers with information about STDs and offers free condoms for anyone to pick up year-round.