Condom plan waits on survey
April 11, 2008
MU’s Sexual Health and Safety Products Task Force is discussing a pilot program that would place sexual safety product dispensers in some residence halls.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Cathy Scroggs said Student Health Center Director Susan Even is waiting for a report from the task force before she makes any further decisions.
“Any type of pilot will not begin before next fall,” Scroggs said.
Sexual Health Advocate Peer Education Coordinator Heather Eastman-Mueller sent a survey to all residents on Tuesday via e-mail.
“The recent electronic survey was sent out to get a baseline on the behaviors, practices and attitudes regarding how students use sexual health safety products,” Even said.
After dispensers are implemented, subsequent surveys would look at how the presence of products affected students, Even said. The location of dispensers within the halls has not yet been decided. One of the requirements Chancellor Brady Deaton placed on the plan was that the dispensers be placed in a private area.
MU spokesman Christian Basi said the reason plans have not been finalized was due to lack of complete funding for the program.
At a Missouri Students Association Budget Committee meeting, MSA Vice President Chelsea Johnson asked the committee for an additional $8,000 to fund the pilot. Johnson said her request was met with no opposition.
“There seemed to be a consensus that it needs to get done,” Johnson said.
In total, MSA would commit approximately $16,000 to the pilot program, enough for seven machines, costing approximately $1,800 each, plus $500 a year to stock them.
Johnson is currently in the process of writing legislation to allocate money from MSA’s Contingency and Reserve Fund.
Johnson said it was important for MSA to provide funding because Deaton required that funding for this program come from student groups. Other groups such as hall councils are also giving money to the pilot program, but MSA would be the largest contributor.
Even said dispensers would contain more than condoms, but did not specify what else.
“They may contain educational material, but I’m not sure,” Johnson said.
Even said the type of dispensers has not been decided on yet, but the dispensers the task force recommended last spring are still in consideration.
The task force has not yet determined which halls will conduct the pilot. Even said that the hall governments must formally request to become part of the program.
Because of the lack of funding, task force discussions have revolved around finding sufficient funding for the project, so a timeline has not yet been determined.
“We are trying to do everything in a careful and systematic way,” Even said.
MSA supported legislation for this initiative in 2006, and Johnson said she hopes that it will happen soon.
“I think a lot of students are wondering when it’s going to happen,” Johnson said.
Johnson said after Even receives a written proposal from the task force, she will read it over and pass it on to Deaton, who she said is out of the country.
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