So it's been a few months since I actually passed out the 500 condoms. The last month of school was very busy or else I would have posted about my experience earlier. Sorry for that!

Heres a little somethin' somethin' about C-day:

I started out with 2 helpers, but by the end of the night only 1 could stick around. We took the original 500 box with us, packed with flyers and tape, starting from I believe it was the 4th floor of my residence hall. My target receivers were Freshmen like me. The girls on the floors below that were upperclassmen. If I remember correctly, it was the Friday of Easter weekend so I figured most girls would be out for the night and/or already home (making it a little less of a hassle for me).

It all started off pretty awkward. My friends and I would tape up the little flyer and stuff condoms under the door as fast as possible and then book it to another hallway/floor. Much to our chagrin, we ran into a little problem: many girls had their doors open and those who didn't have their doors open...there wasn't always enough space to slide a condom under the door. With that said, the awkward-ness was eventually replaced with hysterical laughter, and occasional embarrassment, when we came face to face with nearly half of the girls we were donating condoms to. In order to leave condoms successfully for girls who did have their door shut and had no space under the door, we started to stick them in the card readers on the doors. (Our dorm security requires us to put our college ID into a reader slot and then punch in a code into a little keypad. Picture a hotel room card reader.)

On one floor, there were a bunch of guys hanging out in this girl's room. After giving our initial 1 condom to the girl herself, we went on our merry way. Well, I'm guessing when the guys realized what I was passing out they were begging the girl to get more for them. Wouldn't you know it, she came loping up to us asking for a few more for her friends! I probably gave her two handfulls. It felt pretty good knowing that those guys would probably go out and party tthat night SAFELY!

Overall, I was surprised by how many girls took offense to the GACC's generosity. There were more than a few that gave my friend and I dirty/distrustful looks and attitude when we offered to give them a free condom. Distrust I can understand. I might be iffy about some random people trying to give me a condom, as well. As for the girls that gave us an attitude, I feel bad. They acted like we were calling them bad names or something. I couldn't believe a simple condom could get such a reaction. Possessing condoms is not a bad thing, nor does it mark you as someone who necessarily has sex. It's all about being prepared and being safe about your sexual health. Perhaps condom companies need to focus on revitalizing the stereotypes that tend to surround them.

Being a Safesite has been a neat experience and one that I will not forget. Thank you so much to the GACC, to Amplify, and to Trojans for their fantastic efforts toward sexual safety and health and also for giving me the opportunity to be a part of these efforts.

Have a good one and take care!
Sincerely,
Alex =)