Looking for Rubbers

A dusty condom dispenser rests in the basement of Winthrop, appearing as old as the House itself. It contains no condoms. A flier upstairs advertises a new program sponsored by Aids Education and Outreach (AEO) that distributes free prophylactics to upperclass Houses. The group's Web site claims that house UHS bulletin boards showcase location information. The Winthrop superintendent has never heard of a UHS bulletin board.

FYI: the condom cache resides in a non-descript black box on the laundry room wall. A quarter full, it offers three types of condoms: Trojan lubricated with spermicide, Trojan lubricated without spermicide and LifeStyles non-lubricated. The extensive instructions include details and pictures about condom use, as well as a section of "Tips for Success," which advises that "Oil rots rubber," and condoms should not be stored in one's wallet.

Are the benefits of this free, seemingly unlimited supply of condoms (no three-condom restriction as at Room 13) mitigated by the fact that students seem completely unaware of its existence? The quandary applies beyond Winthrop. In fact, Winthrop was the most informed house surveyed, with seven of 10 students knowing where to find free prophylactics.

In Kirkland, 7 of 10 students did not know the box's location. Perhaps because of student ignorance, Kirkland has the best-stocked box of those examined, containing instructions in English and Spanish, as well as condoms and latex gloves. Then again, the same proportion of surveyed Lowell residents knew about their box, and it was out of both condoms and gloves, although there were plenty of instruction sheets available. (By contrast, the Adams' box was a quarter full and out of instructions.)

Eliot proved the most depraved house of all; not one person polled knew where to find protection. (One lamented his ignorance's cost to his oh-so-active sex life.)

Co-Chair of AEO Rebecca Rosen '99 said the impetus behind the dispensers was "to promote safe sex and give out information. This is really more of an awareness campaign than an opportunity for free condoms." However, she added with a note of trepidation, "it has been hard to keep up with demand." Those few kids who've managed to find the box must be enjoying themselves.