Undergraduate advisors will no longer distribute contraceptives three times a week in dorm halls. They will still receive a weekly stipend of condoms and lubricant, although the amount will be limited, according to UGAs.
The College did not provide a stated reason for the change after multiple requests for comment from The Dartmouth. Asked whether the change was the result of budget cuts, associate dean for residential life Stacey Millard declined to comment.
“We don’t comment on internal budgets, however we continue to work closely with Dick’s House, the primary source for contraceptives and the Student Wellness Center, as we always have, to ensure students have options to access some safe sex supplies residentially,” Millard wrote.
Some residence hall common rooms — such as Bissell Hall and Middle Massachusetts Hall — have baskets of condoms and lubricant available to students.
French Hall UGA Anahita Chowdhary ’28 said that passing out contraception directly in residence halls is “more accessible” for students. Although free condoms are available at the Student Wellness Center, Dick’s House and in dorm common rooms, students are unlikely to leave their dorms to walk to those locations, according to Chowdhary.
Henry Brown ’29 said that while living in Brown Hall, he has had “easy” access to a basket of condoms in the common lounge. However, Brown said that he had not been made aware of where else contraception is available around campus.
“If UGAs provided condoms on on-nights, that would make sense,” Brown said. “Students are going to [have sex] regardless, so they might as well be safe.”
The College was a pioneer in providing contraceptives to students in the 1980s. In 1987, The New York Times reported on Dartmouth’s “aggressive effort” to promote sexual health and sex education amid the AIDS epidemic. The Times wrote that during registration, students were given a condom, dental dam and a “sex-education packet.” Students were also able to get condoms when checking out books in Baker-Berry Library.
French Hall UGA Pamir Oral ’28 said that students who are not typically sexually active will be disproportionately “affected” by the limited number of contraception available in residence halls. Oral explained that condom accessibility carries heightened significance in our rural community, where students may face limited access to reproductive health care.
Oral added that the College has a “duty” to “preserve” students’ “well-being” by providing free condoms “at all times.”
Oral proposed that condom dispensers, similar to those at Dick’s House or the Student Wellness Center, could alternatively be placed directly in dorm hallways.
“My freshman year, I was living in Judge on the third floor, and we had a pack of condoms in the corridor,” Oral said. “I think it is good to have them near the dorms.”
Brody Gifford ’29 pointed out that some places, such as Topliff Hall, provide vending machines that stock condoms, but he argued that charging for them undermines accessibility.
“It’s not the correct solution,” Gifford said.
