This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah universities rank among the nation's worst when it comes to accessibility to sexual-health resources and information available to students on campus.
A study sponsored by the makers of Trojan Brand Condoms and conducted by Sperling's BestPlaces ranked the University of Utah 102nd, down from 54th last year; Utah State University 119th, down from 103rd; Utah Valley University 129th, up a notch from 130th; and LDS Church-owned Brigham Young University dead last at 140, the same position it held the previous two years.
Oregon State ranked first, followed by the University of Texas, the University of Maryland, the University of Arizona and Stanford.
The Pac-12 led all athletic conferences with three schools placing in the top 10.
With BYU's 140th place and UVU's 129th, the lack of contraceptive resources could be chalked up to more students practicing abstinence in conservative, Mormon-dominated Utah County, where those schools reside.
But a troubling part of that equation is the finding that prompted Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, to try to amend the law governing sex education a few years ago. He relied at the time on a study that revealed skyrocketing rates of sexually transmitted diseases in Utah County. His bill, which would have made it easier for public school teachers to talk about contraceptives in sex-education classes, failed in a Senate committee after Utah Eagle Forum President Gayle Ruzicka voiced her displeasure.
Patriotic Utah? • A new analysis reinforces the dismal showing by Utah voters at the polls.
The online research network WalletHub examined all 50 states and the District of Columbia across six key metrics to come up with 2014's Most and Least Politically Engaged States.
Here's how Utah ranked:
• 50th in the percentage of eligible adults who were registered voters in the 2012 presidential election.
• 49th in the percentage of Utahns who voted in the 2010 midterm elections.
• 44th in the percentage of Utahns who voted in the 2012 presidential election.
• Third in the percentage increase of residents who voted in the 2012 election compared with 2008.
• 50th in total political contributions per adult.
Clarification • I wrote Wednesday that the Three Fountains Condominium Homeowners Association decided this year not to allow Christmas decorations that previously were permitted.
But the association actually eased some restrictions that had been in place in the past. What the association did this year was enforce the decorations policy more strictly.
Homeowners can decorate their houses, windows, doors, balconies and patios. But they cannot put decorations in common areas that they don't privately own. That prompted one homeowner to start a petition complaining that the policy was too restrictive.
The association's maintenance crew, however, does put up lights at the complex's entrance.