Committee continues condom discussions
The committee hopes to have a plan outlined by semester's end.
April 10, 2007
After months of debate about the proposal to put free condoms in the residence halls, the condoms committee plans to have a proposal by the end of the semester.
The committee was formed more than a month ago to discuss how to further implement the plan to put condoms in the residence halls.
The committee meets weekly but did not meet during spring break.
Various representatives from student organizations — including the Residence Halls Association, Missouri Students Association, Sexual Health Advocates Peer Education and Phi Beta Sigma fraternity — and hall coordinators and community or peer advisers make up the committee.
Members from the Legion of Black Collegians and the Graduate Professional Council have been invited but haven't yet been able to attend the meetings.
Residential Life Director Frankie Minor and SHAPE Coordinator Heather Eastman-Mueller are co-chairpersons of the committee.
"We meet before to discuss the agenda of the meetings, which is probably dictated by what happened at the preceding meetings," Minor said. "We generally introduced a few topics, have as much good discussion as we can and try to wrap up after an hour summarizing some of the key points."
RHA President Greg Davis said he likes the way the meetings have been run.
"So far everything has been going smoothly in the meetings," Davis said. "I feel it's going very well."
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Cathy Scroggs said she is pleased with how the meetings have gone.
"They've been awfully thorough," Scroggs said. "I think they're trying to move this along. I've asked to have their proposal by the end of the semester."
Scroggs is the creator and overseer of the committee.
"The chancellor asked me to work on a plan on how we could implement a proposal," Scroggs said. "We put together a group to do that."
The committee has discussed ways to make the condoms program work efficiently.
"We're trying to make sure the program is cost-effective, inclusive and accessible," Minor said. "Our goal is to have the most efficient program at the least cost."
Minor said students who feel MU is putting more emphasis on putting cameras than putting condoms in the residence halls should be aware that the camera initiative is different because it received no complaints.
The condoms program experienced a controversial start last semester but hasn't faced problems since its approval on Dec. 19.
"I've only received one phone call from a parent of a prospective student," Minor said. "She heard about and wanted to talk with me about it, but I have personally not received any additional contact from parents or others about the initiative."
MSA President Rachel Anderson said she supports the committee and realizes the initiative will not happen overnight.
"I think it's really important to have a committee to go over logistics and how it will be distributed," Anderson said. "You have to deal with the issues and course of action first."
The committee is optimistic about being able to give their proposal to Scroggs by the end of the semester.
"By the end of the semester, we want to be ready for implementation in the fall," Davis said.
When the committee comes to a consensus on a proposal for implementation, the plan will go to Scroggs and other university officials to make a final decision.
If the proposal is not accepted, the next step is uncertain.
"We would either go back to the drawing board or say forget it," Scroggs said.
Despite the end-of-semester deadline to come up with a proposal and some students' eagerness to see results, Minor said he is not feeling the pressure.
"We realize that this is a complex process with many issues, so we're going to try to resolve those as soon as we can and come up with the most effective plan to present to Dr. Scroggs," Minor said. "The students who have spoken to me are very interested in what's going out, but I think they would rather have us do it well than do it quickly."
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