by: 
aliciaj
aliciajFriday, November 13, 2009 at 11:36:00 AM EST
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Last year, a group of students at Boston College decided to do something about the lack of sexual health education and resources on our campus. We had long lamented the fact that our school's Catholic identity had been used as an excuse for never talking about sexuality and denying students the proper tools to make healthy and informed decisions about sex. This past February, we formed BC Students for Sexual Health (BC SSH) and launched our campaign with an undergraduate student referendum in order to establish how much support we had from the greater student body. The students voted and almost 90% agreed that Boston College needs to improve its sexual health education and resources.
While we have made much progress in these past few months, most of this has not been tangible (the progress we have made is mostly in the form of meetings, the creation of an administrative Committee on Health and Wellness that includes sexual health and will work on long-term goals for health education, and events on sexuality and spirituality, especially within the Catholic tradition). The administration is unwilling to compromise on its ban on contraceptives on campus; we cannot hold sexual health safer sex lessons; and there is a policy banning sexual activity in the dorms.
We decided to take the initiative to get sexual health resources into the hands of the students. Members had previously received a shipment of free condoms from Advocates For Youth's Great American Condom Campaign, as well as from other public sources. Using these supplies, last spring we began distributing condoms along with informational sheets (see images below) on the public sidewalks around campus, where students frequently pass to get between their dorms and the main campus.
While we have made much progress in these past few months, most of this has not been tangible (the progress we have made is mostly in the form of meetings, the creation of an administrative Committee on Health and Wellness that includes sexual health and will work on long-term goals for health education, and events on sexuality and spirituality, especially within the Catholic tradition). The administration is unwilling to compromise on its ban on contraceptives on campus; we cannot hold sexual health safer sex lessons; and there is a policy banning sexual activity in the dorms.
We decided to take the initiative to get sexual health resources into the hands of the students. Members had previously received a shipment of free condoms from Advocates For Youth's Great American Condom Campaign, as well as from other public sources. Using these supplies, last spring we began distributing condoms along with informational sheets (see images below) on the public sidewalks around campus, where students frequently pass to get between their dorms and the main campus.
While we initially were asked to leave by the Boston College Police Department, we established our legal right to be present on the public sidewalks of the City of Newton, and have organized condom distributions several times since, handing out over 10,000 condoms in all. The students have been almost all supportive of our efforts, many even excited to be getting condoms from the BC SSH volunteers on Fridays - since these resources are expensive and (if not for us) unavailable on campus.
While we are aware that many at the university are unhappy with our program to provide condoms on campus, we know that the students (almost 90%) support our efforts. An official policy bans sexual activity in the dorms at BC, but this is far from the reality. Whether one agrees with hooking up or even any form of premarital sex, sex is simply a fact for the lives of most young adults, and we must prepare them accordingly. Whatever choices our peers make about sex, we, BC SSH, are committed to helping them make the safest choices possible.
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by Anatic09
Thank you for your support! Of course the rule against sex in the dorms is disregarded by the students, but because BC is a Catholic school, it is not surprising. In fact, BC has even less strict rules than other schools, that might for instance forbid any men from entering women's dorms at all, and vice versa.
That said, BCSSH are not okay with the policy. While we are not directly working on its elimination, we are working to have the university acknowledge that students will have sex despite the rule and provide the tools necessary (read: education and condoms) to make healthy choices, even if they're breaking the rules. That's why, for instance, BC has a mandatory Alcohol Edu course for all freshmen. Even though underage drinking is illegal, minors will still drink, and they need to be educated to make healthy choices.
Alicia