AS PRINTED IN THE WHITWORTHIAN:
The club Women in Society Everywhere (W.I.S.E.) was encouraged by administrators to stop handing out condoms to the student body Tuesday, students said.
After a letter to President Bill Robinson, W.I.S.E. was given permission to continue handing out condoms discretly, junior Kristen Black said.
"I’d heard about general distribution of condoms in the HUB and I knew that had created offense and misunderstanding," vice president for student life Kathy Storm said in an e-mail.
Storm said she genuinely appreciated the goals of promoting awareness of gender issues and offering information about sex, health and gender. After hearing complaints Storm said she wanted to pass along feedback to help W.I.S.E. better accomplish its goals.
"A lot of the concerns I heard during the week focused on what I guess you’d call the marketing," Storm said. "For anyone, especially for someone who’s visiting campus and may not have any context for this, having someone call out, ‘You could be raped in jeans’ or ‘We know you’re having sex’ can be jarring and also very offensive."
Robinson and Storm sent director of student activities Dayna Coleman Jones to speak to the students.
W.I.S.E. sponsored Sex On the Sidewalk everyday last week from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Hixon Union Building as part of Women’s Week.
"We were in the HUB handing out condoms and information on domestic violence, date rape, rape sexual assault and all kinds of birth control," junior Ali Hudak said. She organized Sex On the Sidewalk.
Junior Kristen Black said Coleman Jones, "began to pick up the condoms we put out on display and said something to the effect that we were not to hand out condoms to the students, as [Robinson] was very upset that it was sending the wrong message."
Storm said she understands the objectives of the group, and echoed Robinson’s concern about sending the wrong message.
"If condoms are given in the Health Center, thoughtful, private conversations can happen about life and health, and that seems more consistent with our commitments to responsible decision-making and community values," Storm said.
Coleman Jones said students could place the condoms in bags and hand them out, Hudak said.
"We were frustrated, but we just put them away and handed them out in bags," Hudak said.
The next day, Robinson came by the booth and discussed Women’s Week and Sex On the Sidewalk.
"I asked him if we were OK with the table, and he said we were doing well, ‘keep it up’," Black said.
W.I.S.E. distributed condoms and information in paper bags.
Black said sexual health cannot be ignored.
"We (W.I.S.E.) want it to be known that yes, people on campus do have sex, and we believe in advocating safe sex if they are making this decision," Black said. "Sex is a very personal choice, but something rarely addressed on campus."
Hudak said administrator’s actions sent the wrong message.
"I think it says the school cares more about its image than about health," Hudak said. "They know people are having sex just like every other place."
Black said the Whitworth health center gives out free condoms to students who need them.
"The intention and the mission of the Health Center are to keep all students safe and well," Director of the Heath Center Jan Murray said. "We do this on an individual basis that is nondiscriminatory."
W.I.S.E. member Emily Hurianek said the group declined to comment on this issue and would not go on record, but would be willing to talk about other events.
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I was in Macroeconomic class the other day when my seemingly very conservative professor started to talk about the economic reprecussions of children birthed per woman. "Let's face it," he said, "people just love having sex and nothing is going to change that," and then went on to say how important birth control and other sexual safety issues were for economic development.
The point is that condoms, sexual information, IS IMPORTANT and that restricting information does not stop people from having sex; if anything, it probably pushes up the abortion rate.
Most college campuses actively provide condoms and access to other sexual resources. I do not feel like that is the role of the college. Rather, the college should be an academic institution. I do feel, however, that the school should not restrict a student club from distributing condoms. That's the clubs choice.
Taken to the extreme, this could be a dangerous stance, but I think the administration had no right to ask WISE to distribute condoms in bags. Hiding something does not mean it doesn't exist, perhaps another idea Whitworth should seriously consider when it comes to religious intolerance, racial discrimination, other ideologies, and sexual discrimination.
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