Congrats to SafeSite Abtin Mehdizadegan from the University of Maine who got an awesome article published in his school newspaper about the GACC and his condom distribution efforts! 

Condoms coming to campus in hundreds
By: Billy Roy
Posted: 2/23/09

Five hundred condoms are being delivered directly to the dorm room of Vice President for Student Entertainment Abtin Mehdizadegan within the next two to four weeks. They will then be sent to various locations on the University of Maine campus to be distributed throughout the student body.

The campaign recently partnered with Advocates for Youth and Trojan Evolve. Advocates for Youth provides the staff and support necessary to place the campaign into action, while Trojan Evolve donates 1 million condoms to be distributed to campuses nationwide.

Are you a strong supporter of sexually transmitted infection prevention but have a tough time finding condoms on campus - or worse, you're embarrassed to get them from someone you know? These are the type of fears the Great American Condom Campaign seeks to eradicate.

"It's a great cause," Mehdizadegan stated in an e-mail. "No matter what side of the spectrum, no one is against HIV awareness and prevention."

The condoms will be handed-off to Residents on Campus and placed in bins for students to take at no cost.

The campaign seeks to respond to increasing student concerns that condoms are becoming more difficult to find on college campuses. Mehdizadegan reacted to condom shortage concerns at UMaine by applying for the 500 condoms online through amplifyyourvoice.com. The Web site permits students to submit an application to become a "SafeSite," wherein 500 condoms are granted. There are two criteria for determining if a university can be a SafeSite: the need for condoms on campus and the applicant's distribution plan.

Five hundred condoms may seem like a bucket load, but compared to the approximate 65,000 condoms ordered every year through the UMaine Counseling Center and Peer Education Program, it appears miniscule. So why all the trouble? What is the purpose of filling out an application for so few condoms?

The program is set up primarily to make condoms more socially acceptable, easier to use and more accessible to college students, and every little bit helps. The GACC aims to make America a sexually healthy nation by promoting safe-sex practices. Advocates for Youth aims to push safer sex practices to ultimately result in fewer contractions of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The application is simple to reflect the campaign's mission to make condoms easier to use. Any student capable of defending a legitimate distribution plan has the opportunity to make their university a SafeSite, allowing their campus to receive condoms and literature about safe-sex practices.

Kylie Cole, clinician and prevention coordinator for the UMaine Counseling Center and peer educators program, said students have plenty of brands to choose from in the UMaine supply of condoms, including Trustex, Atlas, Lifestyles and Durex.

"STD and HIV is an extremely important topic for students because they are often misinformed about information dealing with safer sex before attending university," Cole said. The GACC may prompt more trust in the already elaborate condom dispersal plan that exists on campus.

The GACC's focus recently expanded from organizing condom availability on campuses to fighting sex censorship in American schools and pushing for the rights of GLBT youths.

Amplifyyourvoice.com allows students across the country to submit their campaign input via blogs and video.