One of my readers criticized after my last column that I write about sex but not enough about safety. Even though I’ve written on safe sex last semester, I should include important information about safe sex again. I agree.

I can’t give details in every column, but each semester brings new students, and each student who decides to be sexually active needs to be aware that what is fun can quickly turn into a life-changing disaster.

We always like to think about the positive things that intimacy brings: affection, passion, desire and satisfaction. But sex is primarily something that most college students don’t want at this young age: reproduction. Even when you’re young, in love and just want to have fun, having sex can change your life forever.

Imagine the following: You spend a comfortable night at home with your partner, cuddle up to him, watch a movie, start kissing and making out. You really want to sleep with him, but you don’t have a condom. Maybe, as a girl, you think you can’t conceive at the moment because you just had your period and are not ovulating yet. Or, as a guy, you think you can just mess around a little but not go through with it until the end. Next thing you know, you’re standing in the drugstore buying a pregnancy test because you, or your girlfriend, are late. Your life could just have changed forever.

Even if you are pro-choice and decide to have an abortion (which everyone should decide for themselves, not for someone else), it will affect you for the rest of your life. Every woman I heard about who had an abortion described it as one of the worst decisions they ever had to make.

Whatever option you choose after getting pregnant, it will be worse than worrying about safe sex. But it affects everyone who is sexually active, whether man or woman.

Which brings me to another question: Who is responsible for safety, men or women? Some say women because they bear the consequences of getting pregnant. They should use the pill, vaginal ring or any of the other options for women. Some say men because they wear the condoms and only condoms can prevent both pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

There is only one right answer: both. Those who make the decision to have sex also make the decision to prevent pregnancy and infection.

I recently talked to a male friend about a woman’s options of birth control. I asked him what he thought would be the best option for women. But he referred me to a female friend for that kind of conversation. I wondered if that reaction was due to lack of interest or lack of information.

In the end, knowing what possibilities women have for birth control also affects men because it saves both from negative consequences. Don’t think of women as “the responsible ones” or those who “take care of it.” We can all make mistakes or be negligent. But this negligence can quickly lead to pain and suffering. It can change your life forever.