The Student Assembly may begin a program to increase the availability of condoms on campus and improve students' awareness about places to acquire condoms.
Summer Student Assembly President Jorge Miranda '01 said that in a brainstorming session in the beginning of the summer, the Assembly decided to broach a subject that had already been considered and rejected by Assembly executives during the 1998 Spring term -- the free distribution of condoms around the campus.
During that spring, Mark Kutolowski '99, who was an Assembly member representing the Aquinas House Catholic student center at the time, said he thought Aquinas House would disapprove of free distribution, due to the Catholic Church's official stance against contraception.
Miranda said the issue became controversial among the Student Assembly executives at the time -- with one of the main arguments of those against the distribution being that condoms promote more sex, rather than just safe sex -- and it was dropped.
Student Assembly member Prince Neelankavil '01, who is in charge of planning any distribution or awareness the Assembly would accomplish this summer, said the Assembly's original idea this summer was similar to the one from last spring -- to offer free condoms at the Collis information desk, through Undergraduate Advisors or in boxes in every bathroom.
However, Neelankavil's inquiries with the College Health Services indicated to him that it would be difficult to give out the condoms for free, particularly in boxes in bathrooms, where people could potentially tamper with them.
In addition, Assembly member Emmett Hogan '01 had already objected to the idea of free distribution on moral grounds, as had Aquinas House Summer President Christine Percheski '01. Percheski attended this Tuesday night's meeting and had told The Dartmouth she expected Aquinas House to object to the idea of free distribution, which could have possibly been funded by the Assembly budget, based upon Student Activities fees.
Instead of free distribution, though, Neelankavil said Health Services recommended that the Assembly work through the Office of Residential Life to make sure there are vending machines in every bathroom. The condoms in the machines would cost money rather than being free.
Neelankavil also said he plans to contact condom distributors and ask for free condoms to hand out on a condom awareness day, during which the Assembly would inform students about the use of condoms and where to acquire them on and around the College campus.
Neelankavil said, however, the Assembly is aware of the controversy that surrounds condom distribution and does not plan to take any action without polling the campus either over BlitzMail or by sending polls to students' Hinman Boxes to see how students feel about the issue. If more than a quarter of students disapprove of the idea, the Assembly will not proceed with any of the plans.
"I think it's just very important in the college setting to have condoms available, because I feel like sex is going to happen either way, so it might as well be safe," Neelankavil said.
"We're just assuming that there's going to be opposition ... On the Student Assembly, people are pretty supportive of the idea, but we're just worried about other groups on campus that might not like the idea."
