The Safe Sex Store isn't your typical Ann Arbor shop-around-the-corner. A conversation with owner Beth Karmeisool makes this obvious in no time. Her welcoming attitude is an instant relief as you walk through the door, and she can make you feel comfortable whether you're talking about an upcoming exam or rotating vibrators. But she doesn't just relate to college kids, she actually is one - she's a student at the University's School of Public Health. Perhaps because of this, Karmeisool believes it is her responsibility to inform, empower and educate her clientele about sexual health issues.

"You know what's really funny? We sell more products when the football team wins. It's so funny because I'm always at the game, and that TV out in the main store plays the games - football, basketball, hockey - oh yeah, we've got the games on. When a football game's on and we're winning, we know we've got to get ready because after the game, people are in a good mood, and they're going to be out and about."

"We're just a normal store. Yes, we sell personal care items but we are a normal store. The biggest difference between walking into a drugstore and coming to our store is that you're going to get the information that you need about your sexual health here."

"Back in Royal Oak, I thought maybe I would have to worry about a protester or whatever. I really did think that I might have those issues, and I would have to make sure that I had my stats so I could say, 'Look, what we're trying to do is really reduce this problem.' But even in Royal Oak, they were very welcoming, and I would have parents bring their children, adolescents, to the store to have a conversation with me because they themselves were uncomfortable with certain issues so they would have them come and talk to me."

"This is normal. We are all sexual beings. And what we are trying to put forth is the educational side. Because of the reputation of the store and the reputation of not only myself, but the employees - the customers, the city, the professors on campus - they know what we're about, and they are confident that we are putting forth the correct, consistent information regarding sexual health. In fact, many of the gynecologists and doctors around the area do send people to us"

"When it comes to this region [indicating her waist area], nobody addresses it. Yet this region can cause havoc on our lives, even as simple as - and I'm saying this simply - like contracting gonorrhea or chlamydia, you think that it's treatable, that you just need to go get an antibiotic and that you'll be fine. Well, not necessarily. People don't realize that a mistake that you might make can have serious consequences. We're all mortals, we are living our lives, we're going along and having unprotected sex even that one time could lead to something, and if you don't get that taken care of it can have drastic consequences in your life's path. So that's all that we're doing, we're just talking about it."