A Contraceptive Conundrum

A+pile+of+condoms.

Amir Alexander

A pile of condoms.

I’m a cautious person when it comes to my sexual health. There’s a myriad of risks that arrise when one decides to lead a “Sex and The City” lifestyle. When I lived in Statesboro, I felt a sense of security in knowing that should I ever need contraceptives— they’d be within walking distance of my Southern Pines dormitory.

On Armstrong, I did not have that same sense of security. I scrubbed the Health Services website in search of information. Although I did find that the on-campus clinic does provide screening for HIV and other STIs, I did not see any mention of whether preventative aids are also available.

Last week, I decided to venture out to Health Services to answer my contraceptive query. The website was not much help in locating the clinic. At first I was directed by one student to our nursing building, then a nursing student advised me to go back to the Student Union.

On my third round of asking for directions, one student volunteered to personally walk me to the building. A sign on the door gave me a number to call. I was connected to an actual person after a few minutes of clicking through the phone tree.

I was let inside and directed to grab one of the brown paper bags displayed on a small table right beside the door. The entire exchange took a matter of minutes.

The contents of the bag were enough to lead a healthy, bachelor-of-the-week life. However, I was disappointed to find no other contraceptives were included aside from condoms. Although I had no personal use for dental dams or lubricants, there are a number of students who would serve from having open access to them.

I felt like I was holding onto some big secret as I walked through campus with my sack of condoms in tow. An unadvertised perk of my enrollment at GSU.

The entire exchange of having to call someone to unlock a door and monitor you as you take your pick could be intimidating for some students. To a point where they may just forego it altogether.

I was satisfied to have my condom conundrum solved. But also concerned with how much effort the process took.