Condom Boxes Erected in Freshman Dorms

Condom boxes were installed in freshman dorms Greenough, Canaday, and Weld laundry rooms last Thursday, the climax of two and a half months of planning, involving the Undergraduate Council (UC), Community Health Initiative (CHI), and the Freshman Dean’s Office.

This is the first time these little black boxes, which have been enjoyed by upperclassmen for years, will dispense free condoms to students in freshman dormitories. Previously, first-years were able only to obtain free condoms from peer counseling groups Room 13 and Contact, which have offices in the Yard, condom boxes in the upperclassmen Houses, or from University Health Services (UHS).

The dispensers were purchased by the Center for Wellness and Health Communication, a branch of UHS, and will be restocked by student members of CHI, as are the boxes in the Houses. Yard Operations erected the bins last Thursday.

Beside each box is a set of leaflets, such as “Contraception: Choosing a Method.”

The UC passed a motion showing stiff resolve to install the boxes in February, although Dean of Freshman Thomas A. Dingman ’67 was working with CHI to acquire the dispensers before that, according to UC member Jeffrey Kwong ’09.

“Right now there are [free condoms] at UHS, but I know a lot of people aren’t going to go all the way to UHS just to get condoms,” said Ricky B. Shah ’09, a sponsor of the bill, identifying the main benefits of the boxes as convenience and equality with upperclassmen.

Kwong, however, said that he thought the new boxes were unnecessary.

“These new condom boxes are out of the way of a lot of students,” he said. “They’re not any more accessible than any existing resources.”

Kwong also raised doubts about the legality of the appearance of condoms in the Yard, saying that it was unclear whether the College could provide condoms to a class which includes some students under the age of consent.

“I’m not convinced [those issues] have been researched fully by Mr. Sundquist and Mr. Shah,” he added, referring to the UC bill’s sponsors.

Students seemed to be less divided on the scheme’s merits.

“It certainly sounds like a good plan,” James P. Canning ’09 said, although he did not know about the installations until told by The Crimson.

Matan Shelomi ’09 who works with Peer Contraceptive Counseling said the he thought the new boxes would be popular.

“I would say that anything that involves people walking less [will be successful].”

According to an e-mail sent by Keli Ballinger, the director of CHI, the project could be extended to more dorms in the future if there is demand.

—Staff writer John R. Macartney can be reached at jmacartn@fas.harvard.edu.