When Your College Is In The Sticks And You’re Stuck Without Contraception
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Most colleges at least provide free condoms through student health services.
It’s hard to say what inspired Kyle McCabe to start CondAm, a condom delivery service for the students of the College of New Jersey. A comical business that stars McCabe visiting dorm rooms with a large flashing blue light on his head also sparks some more serious questions about condom distribution on campuses located far from 24 hour stores. After hours, universities and colleges—especially rural ones—have a responsibility to provide options for students who need protection from STIs and unplanned pregnancies.
“I think that it is good for freshmen who are new to college and some of the different social lifestyle changes,” Billy Cavallo, a senior at the College of New Jersey, told Campus Progress. “Me personally, I have about 30 condoms in my room so I don't [think] I'll ever need the service.”
Some colleges, like Mars Hill in North Carolina do not have any immediate resources for emergency contraceptives, but sophomore Rachel Louviaux doesn’t see a large need for something like this on campus.
“I say no if I’m caught without protection,” Louviaux said. “If you make an effort, you won't go without protection.”
While most schools provide condoms at their health centers during office hours, the risk of being caught without one later in the day still exists. Both Louviaux and Cavallo credited college students with the common sense to plan for and use protection when necessary. Still, unintended pregnancy and the spread of STIs pose big enough threats for college campuses to do more to help their students.
Students at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, for example, face a trek to the nearby town of 6,000 to buy condoms, NBC News reported. So this school offers vending machines that provide not just condoms, but also morning after pills for $25 a pop to their students.
Aditi Pai is a reporter for Campus Progress.
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