Author: Gil Alcaraz
Oxy does its best to promote safe sex, which entails making sure that the college offers comprehensive birth control to anyone who wants or needs it. The college facilitates this primarily through the free distribution of condoms at the Emmons Health Center and in the residence halls by Resident Advisors (RAs) and Hall Coordinators (HCs). The plan seems laudable, but is it functional?
If you’ve been on campus long enough, you’ve probably heard complaints from students that evidence a lack of confidence in the condoms made available through the school. The brand chiefly in question is Lifestyles, which are manufactured by Ansell Healthcare, Inc.
There have been a few recalls in the last decade or so for this brand of condom, including the Assorted Colors types – the condoms often handed out by RAs and HCs. The most recent recall was in 2002, when a batch of condoms was recalled on Virginia Tech’s campus due to a failure to meet federal testing standards. According to the Virginia Tech Collegiate Times, the company has since received numerous complaints about its product’s strength and durability. In addition, leading up to the recall, Ansell had received six complaints about the condoms in three years. Two of the complaints were simply about the taste of the flavored condoms, but the other four were in regards to the condom’s substandard strength.
In 2005, Consumer Reports conducted a study in which 16,000 condoms (1,000 condoms each from the top 16 brands) were tested for strength and durability. If four of the condoms of a specific brand broke, the brand was considered unsafe. Only two of the brands failed the test, one of which was Lifestyles. The brand then fell under the scrutiny of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). After the inquiry by the FDA and a complaint from a consumer in Hawaii, Ansell Inc. recalled 34 batches of condoms.
Lifestyles has attempted to project a better image in response to the negative feedback that its products continue to receive. In 2008, the company offered Miley Cyrus (or Hannah Montana) a one-million dollar deal to endorse its condoms. Her representative, however, stated that they would not even consider such a deal.
In a more successful business arrangement, Lifestyles negotiated a deal with New York City to mass produce the city’s official condom. The product features a wrapper that says “NYC Condom,” with each letter in a colored circle resembling the letter or number of a subway line. The deal cost New York City’s government four cents per condom – in total only $720,000 for 18 million condoms. The condoms are handed out in public schools and at municipally-run events.
The United States government is also a consumer of the brand, purchasing Lifestyles condoms for all of its health clinics and hospitals.
And what of Oxy?
There are several other issues that surround Oxy’s free condom policy. Every Residence Hall has fully-stocked candy and condom buckets for RAs to carry around each night. However, oftentimes the buckets, though filled with candy, are condom-less. According to an RA in Norris Hall, Oxy’s residence halls were not even supplied with condoms at the beginning of the year.
Assistant Director of Living and Learning Communities Maureen Regan stated that the responsibility of getting condoms to students is in the hands of the hall’s residence staff, and that the candy and condom bucket is an option that they can decide to do or not. In addition, RAs have, in the past, taken it upon themselves to discuss safe sex during hall spreads and have also invited speakers from Emmons to give seminars on practicing safe sex. Condoms are often handed out at these events, but they are usually brands that are of higher quality than Lifestyles, such as Durex, Kimono and Trojans.
Emmons has programs of its own to help students become more aware of safe sexual practices, but these are less widely attended.
As one student expressed, this is why it is crucial that proper birth control be assured by the hall’s residence staff. “It’s important because a lot of students are too lazy to go out there and buy their own [condoms],” said Eliana Yoneda (sophomore). “But when condoms are being handed out for free, without us having to even leave our rooms, we don’t think to question their quality.”
RAs cited that the conditions the condoms are kept in by the college has also been an issue. Reagan explained that the condoms are stored in a cool office, and RAs are supposed to come pick them up as needed. However, even though at first the condoms are stored in a air conditioned office, once they are in the hands of the RAs, their fate is questionable. “I know there are problems with some of them being old [or] kept in bad conditions for condoms, in the heat,” said Newcomb Hall RA Sam Siegal (sophomore).
In addition, some RAs feel conflicted when it comes to handing out Lifestyles condoms. “Naturally I just do my job and make them available to residents, but of course I would feel like a better RA if there were a more reputable brand in my bucket. It’s my obligation to provide for the well-being of my residents,” said Newcomb Hall RA Evan Chang (sophomore). “It upsets me if they are dissatisfied in any way, including [with] the brand of condoms we provide.”
While much of Oxy’s student body may be under the impression that Lifestyles are their only free option for birth control, Director of Student Health Services Richard Youngblood confirmed that Emmons Health Center also supplies more trusted brands of condoms such as Durex, Kimono and Trojan, in addition to Lifestyles.
The Project for a Sexual Assault Free Environment (Project S.A.F.E.) also gives out alternative condom brands for free at all of its events, such as Take Back the Night, part of their annual sexual assault awareness week. The supervisor of the program, Director of the Intercultural Community Center Naddia Palacios, says S.A.F.E. carefully considers the brands of condoms they provide for students. “We pay for [condoms] out of our own budget. I believe we spent about $600 on condoms for Take Back the Night,” she said. “I know that we decided to provide condoms [and] many students gave us feedback regarding their favorite brands. Trojans were everyone’s favorite.” In addition, Palacios said every condom supplied by the Project S.A.F.E. is accompanied by a leaflet promoting consent and safe sex.
It seems that ResLife has become aware of the student body’s discontent over its use of Lifestyles condoms. They have taken heed of complaints and decided that its next shipment of condoms will be from Trojan. “[Residence Life] cares about the safety of the students and that’s why we’ve decided to make the switch from the old condoms to the Trojan brand,” Regan said.
But according to Regan, this may only be done temporarily because of costs. A box of 1,000 Lifestyles condoms costs $75, as opposed to a box of 1,000 Trojans, which costs $300. “Although we prefer to supply a more trusted brand, I will be talking to our supplier about finding a cheaper solution for providing students with condoms,” Regan said.
Due to budget constraints, the amount of time that Oxy students will have access to quality condoms is unknown.
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