Students concerned about the health of their peers have initiated a new advocacy branch in OU’s student government.

UOSA Health Advocacy will work to better inform students of the health resources and promote healthy lifestyle practices.

After founding the Medical Ethics and Issues Discussion Panel last year, Niekia Franklin, zoology junior, founded UOSAHA. She said the panel raised thousands of dollars and placed over 30 students in volunteer positions, which motivated her to start the UOSAHA subset.

Goddard Health Center and the Huston Huffman Center received a grant this year to start Healthy Sooners, which coordinates with UOSAHA’s goals, according to Franklin.

“We want to be very visible on campus and help Goddard and the Huff reach out to students who usually would not use their services,” Franklin said. “We also want to make sure that students leave the university with a well-rounded education, including an important health education.”

Franklin said there are on-campus resources of which few students are aware.

“Many students do not realize that they are already paying over $100 per full calendar year for health services and promotion on campus, or that these fees help to provide free flu shots and $20 appointments that can cover dermatology, women’s health and many other medical services at Goddard, even without insurance,” Franklin said.

In addition to the services already available to students, UOSAHA will work to promote healthier fast food options, implement a smoking ban and increase mental health awareness.

UOSAHA also plans to distribute health advocacy items such as bottled water, granola bars and condoms.

OU ranked 81st in Trojan’s Sexual Health Report Card in 2009. The ranking measures access and availability of sexual health information and resources across 141 colleges and universities, according to trojancondoms.com.

“The University of Florida and the University of Oklahoma may have played a close BCS title game on the football field, but for sexual health resources, Florida ran up the score, coming in at 24th overall, compared to Oklahoma’s 81st place ranking,” according to trojancondoms.com.

Besides working with Goddard on its anti-smoking initiative and health hut promotions, UOSAHA will also produce a monthly newsletter sponsored by Goddard and the Huff. It will be sent out through mass e-mail and distributed in print on campus.

The newsletter will include information about resources found on campus and upcoming health advocacy events.

Although OU has tried to address problems such as depression, eating disorders and obesity, Allen Knehans, professor and chairman of the Department of Nutrition, said he hopes the health advocacy branch will be able to better voice the concerns of students in these and other areas.

Good health is often taken for granted by students, since most have never experienced poor health, Knehans said.

“I wish students could better appreciate what a gift good health is,” Knehans said. “If they did, they would certainly cherish and nurture their good health.”

The new branch not only has short term plans but long-term goals as well, Franklin said.

“One of my most personal goals for this year is to host an event with OKC Million, a Mick Cornett initiative, open to the OU and Norman community, with all proceeds going into a scholarship for a student who faced a medical emergency while attending OU,” Franklin said. “Hopefully, this could become a yearly thing.”

OKC Million is a challenge by Mayor Cornett to have Oklahoma City lose 1 million pounds and maintain healthier lifestyles, according to its website.