Free condoms are now available in the rest rooms of all floors of the Brody Learning Commons and those of the M and Q levels of the Milton S. Eisenhower Library. These additional locations supplement existing free condom sources on campus — the Student Health and Wellness Center and students’ Resident Advisors — from which students have historically had to go to receive free condoms.
Dispensers can be found in both men’s and women’s rest rooms. Each is stocked weekly with 50 condoms by students working under the auspices of the SGA.
As part of the effort, the students are keeping track of the number of condoms dispensed. The first week’s supply of condoms, stocked last Thursday, were completely depleted by Tuesday.
The Health and Wellness Center is providing the condoms for the new locations, so no new funds are being spent aside from the one-time cost of the dispenser holders.
Hopkins has a clear policy of addressing the sexual health of and promoting safe practices among the student body. For example, undergraduate orientation each year for new freshmen features events similar to this year’s “Sex Signals for College Singles (and Everyone Else),” performed by Catharsis Productions.
Sophomore Marni Epstein was the student who first brought the idea for expanding access to condoms to the Student Government Association (SGA) in a town hall style meeting in the spring.
“I was surprised they [condoms] weren’t more accessible,” Epstein said. “There was so much stuff about [sex safety] during orientation week, but the school didn’t follow up on it.”
Epstein, a Public Health Studies major, is passionate about the subject, having interned with Planned Parenthood over the summer in New York City.
The change has been well-received by members of the student body.
“It is very convenient that they [condoms] are there. We only have to go to Brody and not HelWell. It’s nice that it’s private too,” freshman Rodrigo Aguilar said.
Two main goals for the new condom locations were to address the issues of easy accessibility for students and to remove the potential barrier of embarrassment preventing students from procuring condoms.
The project was also the project of Senior Class Senator Zoe Cohen, a member of the SGA.
“Zoe did all the dirty work,” Epstein said.
Together, Epstein and Cohen worked to campaign for the introduction of the program and to carry out the restocking and management of the condom dispensers.
“When we first brought this idea to the administration, they had all of the questions that you might expect. Once we explained that there was a need to have a central location on campus where students could have access to free condoms, instead of having them limited to less central areas such as the underclassmen dorms and the health and wellness center, they were on board to support this public health initiative,” Cohen wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
“We received support from multiple different corners of campus. Alanna Biblow, the Health Educator for CHEW and Kate Dowling, the Administrative Coordinator at the library, were especially helpful in facilitating the stocking of the condoms and installation of the holders in the library and in Brody,” Epstein wrote.
The Center for Health Education and Wellness (CHEW) has been involved largely through the work of Biblow, who stressed the effectiveness of condoms and the fact that those available in the new locations are the same as those distributed elsewhere by the University: Lifestyles Condoms provided by the Maryland State Administration.
Lifestyles Condoms are suggested by Consumer Reports as a quality brand. Their Ultra Sensitive model is described by the review as “a nice combination of performance and simplicity. . .[it] is a solid choice for couples who want a plain, reliable condom.”
