Students on a late-night quest for condoms may now find themselves headed all the way to the student infirmary in Duke Hospital South rather than the nearest vending machine.
Unreliable equipment, low sales and vandalism have prompted Student Health to remove all condom machines from dormitory bathrooms. Student Health officials also have ceased selling The Pack, a packet containing two condoms, a lubricant and instructions, in snack vending machines based on what they said was prohibitive cost.
Student Health's calculation of the cost of selling The Pack, based on sales projections from the University's contracted vending service, reflects a drastic increase in cost from last year, said Lisa Barber-Murphy, health educator specialist in Student Health.
Student Health administrators determined that they faced an increase in cost from $4,597, which covered selling The Pack in 14 snack machines and individual condoms through the 120 bathroom machines, to $12,000, which would allow Student Health to offer condoms in 17 vending machines and all of the bathroom vending machines.
Because only about 1,500 condom packs are purchased each year, this escalation in cost would force Student Health to raise the price of condoms in snack vending machines from $0.60 to $6.50, said Dr. Bill Christmas, director of student health.
But Jim Wilkerson, director of Stores Operations, said he was surprised by what seemed an illogical decision to remove all condoms from the snack vending machines. Student Health could have kept The Pack in the same 14 vending machines as last year for no change in cost, he said.
He added that the more than $7,000 rise in price for three additional vending machines seems implausible. "I just don't think that information is accurate," Wilkerson said.
While some of the calculations from Student Health likely were based on projections from the vending service concerning the revenue loss due to lost snack sales, Wilkerson said that those estimates should not have been a direct source for determining the service's final price. If condoms sell more slowly than candy bars, for example, the cost of selling condoms will reflect this fact, but "that in no way means that revenue has to be replaced at the same rate."
A full assessment of losses and gains in the vending service's revenue and the University's commission would determine the final price of The Pack, a step Wilkerson said was never taken. "I don't believe this was researched to the end," he said. "It sounds like somebody [calculated] a price and said, `That's it.'" He said he was surprised that no one took issue with what seemed like unreasonably high costs, particularly because they meant the end of the condom sales program.
While Christmas said Student Health's calculations were confirmed by Stores Operations, both he and Barber-Murphy said they were unclear on the specific causes for the rise in price. He emphasized that it was their only motivation for eliminating sale of The Pack.
"We would be very interested in keeping the snack vending machines as an option," Christmas said. "The reason we made a [decision to remove the condoms] was the cost."
Student Health administrators are less disappointed with the removal of the bathroom condom machines. Reports of rampant vandalism prompted Student Health to assess the effectiveness of the coin-operated vending machines often found in bathrooms and laundry rooms. Spot checks by student volunteers revealed that only about 26 percent of the machines worked at any given time, Barber-Murphy said.
"I feel like it gives students a false sense of security," Barber-Murphy said. "If a student goes to get a condom at two in the morning, there's a pretty good chance that the machines don't work."
Because only about 1,000 condoms were purchased through the bathroom machines, keeping the machines in place would be too costly, she said.
"For the same amount of money [as it takes to maintain the machines], we could probably give away 150,000 condoms for free," Barber-Murphy said.
Students can obtain condoms on campus at the Healthy Devil, Pickens Health Clinic and the student infirmary. While condoms at these locations are free, only the infirmary is open 24 hours a day.
Wilkerson said that although reliable condom machines are on the market, they would require a significant investment on the part of Student Health.
Both students and administrators say the change may be problematic for students who aren't sufficiently prepared. "It does pose lots of concerns," said Trinity senior Jane Small, a peer health educator at the Healthy Devil. "This campus doesn't behave as responsibly as it should."
Low condom sales, however, show that not many students depend on the machines, she said. "I don't think it will change behavior for people who already use condoms," Small said.
Instead, Student Health and Student Life administrators will continue to look for ways to make condoms available through other means, such as through volunteers in dorms and selective living groups, Barber-Murphy said.
Earlier this fall, administrators had discussed implementing a program that would place buckets full of free condoms in the guest bathrooms of all dorms.
Because administrators could not find a way to make the packets of condoms tamper-proof, however, the program was never started.
While resident advisers are free to distribute condoms in their dorms,administrators feel that asking RAs to do so is not a feasible way to implement condom distribution, said Marta Perez, assistant dean of student development. Many RAs may be willing, but such a program might make some students and their RAs uncomfortable, she said.
"Waking your RA up in the middle of the night just isn't feasible for some people," Small said.
Regardless of the method, though, many students said they feel that access to condoms is a necessity.
"I think that everyone should have access because they're going to have sex and they need to have safe sex," said Benjamin Riddle, a second-year Divinity student and an RA in the Alpha Tau Omega section.
Administrators emphasized that the new set-up will require an increase in responsibility on the part of students. "[Condoms] don't come down from the sky," Perez said.
"Students just need to take some initiative and be responsible and think ahead."
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