Free Condoms To Be Available In All Houses

After tomorrow, students may have new motives for heading to places like the Winthrop House laundry rooms or the bathrooms under the Lowell House dining hall.

The AIDS Education and Outreach (AEO) program will place condom boxes tomorrow in discreet, 24-hour accessible locations in each of the Houses.

Co-director of AEO Rebecca S. Rosen '99 said the organization began developing the plan last year when they learned that University Health Services (UHS) was seeing an increase in the number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases. According to Rosen, there were 27 cases of chlamydia in the first three months of this school year alone.

"We put together the idea of having increased access to condoms," Rosen said.

With funding from UHS and the Undergraduate Council, AEO will implement the program tomorrow. The group plans to post signs in the Houses, to inform students of the boxes' locations.

During the past ten year, representatives from AEO met with House masters and House committees to decide on the best places to install boxes. Although Rosen said most masters were supportive of the measures, a few expressed concern that students might abuse the boxes by taking too many condoms.

"On our posters we're trying to emphasize that [students] don't need to take 6,000," Rosen said.

Rosen said in order for the program to be effective, students must recognize that the boxes are permanent and they should only take what they need.

Every two weeks, AEO distributors will restock the boxes with 300 condoms of three different varieties.

Students said they do not think stealing will be a problem.

"There might be some abuse, But I Think people will be reasonable," F. Isabel Smith '99 said.

The boxes will be accompanied by bulletin boards for peer outreach group notices.

Currently, students may pick up free condoms at several locations on campus. UHS makes condoms available in the Center for Wellness and Health Communication Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Peer Contraceptive Counselors, on the 5th floor of UHS, is open Sunday through Thursday, 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. Room 13, in Grays Hall west basement, also has condoms and is open every night from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Contact, in Thayer Hall basement, is open Thursday through Saturday, 7 p.m. to 12 a.m.

However, AEO intends the new boxes to be more private than current on campus sources.

"In each case you'd go in and there would be people around," Rosen said of offices like UHS or Room 13. "We wanted a place where people could potentially be alone."

Students said the new boxes will simply provide added convenience.

"No one likes going to UHS for anything," Kirk D. McKeown '00 said.

Although Alice H. Dubois '99 said she supports AEO's move to put condoms in the Houses, she is unsure if the program will reach students who currently do not practice protected sex.

"If you're a person who has safe sex, it's just an added convenience,' she said.

AEO is only installing the boxes in the upperclass Houses for now. However, there are plans to possibly expand to the first-year dorms after the AEO staff assesses the success of the boxes. Students will have a chance to weigh-in on the efficiency of the program through a spring survey.

Still, some first-years said they are offended by their exclusion.

"If they're going to put them in the Houses, they should put them everywhere. Why discriminate against freshmen?" Alisa Tantraphol '02 said.

Despite the exclusion of first-years, most students said they approved of the AEO project because they support the safer sex message.

"People often make the choice to have sex before they think about how they will protect themselves," Alina Das '01 said

The boxes will be accompanied by bulletin boards for peer outreach group notices.

Currently, students may pick up free condoms at several locations on campus. UHS makes condoms available in the Center for Wellness and Health Communication Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Peer Contraceptive Counselors, on the 5th floor of UHS, is open Sunday through Thursday, 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. Room 13, in Grays Hall west basement, also has condoms and is open every night from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Contact, in Thayer Hall basement, is open Thursday through Saturday, 7 p.m. to 12 a.m.

However, AEO intends the new boxes to be more private than current on campus sources.

"In each case you'd go in and there would be people around," Rosen said of offices like UHS or Room 13. "We wanted a place where people could potentially be alone."

Students said the new boxes will simply provide added convenience.

"No one likes going to UHS for anything," Kirk D. McKeown '00 said.

Although Alice H. Dubois '99 said she supports AEO's move to put condoms in the Houses, she is unsure if the program will reach students who currently do not practice protected sex.

"If you're a person who has safe sex, it's just an added convenience,' she said.

AEO is only installing the boxes in the upperclass Houses for now. However, there are plans to possibly expand to the first-year dorms after the AEO staff assesses the success of the boxes. Students will have a chance to weigh-in on the efficiency of the program through a spring survey.

Still, some first-years said they are offended by their exclusion.

"If they're going to put them in the Houses, they should put them everywhere. Why discriminate against freshmen?" Alisa Tantraphol '02 said.

Despite the exclusion of first-years, most students said they approved of the AEO project because they support the safer sex message.

"People often make the choice to have sex before they think about how they will protect themselves," Alina Das '01 said