On Friday, October 18, Carleton’s Office of Health Promotion (OHP) received 2,000 free condoms from an Advocates for Youth program called the Condom Collective.
Four Student Wellness Advocates (SWAs) separately applied online to be campus condoms distributors during New Student Week. Each applicant approved by the Condom Collective was to receive 500 condoms for their campuses. All four SWAs’ applications were approved, and they received a total of 2,000 condoms. The OHP is now working on distributing the condoms to the student body.
“The Condom Collective is an Advocates for Youth organization, a grassroots initiative to have free and easy access to contraceptives,” explained SWA Julia Baumgarte ’21. Carleton is now deemed a Safe Site by the Condom Collective program, which means that the campus actively encourages safe sex.
The online application for the Condom Collective included questions such as “why do you think access to contraceptives is important?” and “why would you like to advocate for free condom dispensers on your campus?” Other questions pertained to the practice of distributing contraceptives.
The condoms in question include Trojans, among other brands, and include a variety of types, such as magnum, ribbed, twisted and “fire and ice.”
“They’re pretty nice, and the fact that there are 2,000, they would definitely cost a lot of money,” said SWA Natalie Sainz ’20. “I feel like people are specifically trusting of Trojan condoms because it’s a pretty big brand name, so knowing the OHP has Trojan condoms for free is a big deal.”
The SWAs plan on using a variety of methods to distribute the condoms to Carleton’s student body. “We’re planning on giving a lot to RAs because they’re most likely to interact with their residents and have direct access to give students these condoms. We also have condoms available in the SWA office for people to stop by and grab some. We might try some tabling in Sayles, and try to publicize the fact that we have so many condoms,” explained Sainz.
“Barrier methods are the best way of reducing the chances of STIs and STDs, unwanted pregnancy,” explained Baumgarte. “From the perspective of a SWA, safer sex is also important for emotional well-being, for reducing post-sex reget, anxiety, and stress,” elaborate Julia Baumgarte 20’.
