the guide FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015
E U S S I SEX DANIEL SMITH/THE HOYA
FEATURE
gEORGETOWN’S cONTRACEPTION cONTROL lack of university resources affects how students approach sexual health JESS KELHAM-HOHLER Hoya Staff Writer
On the stacks at Vital Vittles, students can find a range of useful medicinal products to help them survive college life. Whether it’s cough drops or NyQuil, the independent, student-run Students of Georgetown Inc. ensures that its flagship store is stocked with basic medical necessities. On one shelf, you can see pregnancy tests and even lubricant on sale, yet condoms and any other type of contraception are nowhere to be found. This is because it is part of The Corp’s lease agreement — no type of contra-
ception can be sold on the site. This is not a new issue. In fact, reproductive rights represent one of the most widely reported and discussed issues on campus. No one can miss the tense tabling in Red Square with “Vita Saxa” and “H*yas for Choice” sitting across from one another, the first displaying pamphlets with pictures of a child’s handprint, and the other with a bowl of condoms that students can take for free. The main difference students think about when comparing these two student groups is the right to life versus right to choose abortion argument. H*yas for Choice has gained a reputation for its pro-choice protests over
DANIEL SMITH/THE HOYA
The student-run H*yas for Choice is the only distributor of condoms on campus. It has long been a proponent of increasing sexual health resources and contraception access.
the years, but it has worked equally to provide students with contraceptives as well, as seen by its tabling tactics. H*yas for Choice is leading the fight to get the university to allow contraception to be sold on campus. “I would say that most of our day-to-day activities focus around providing students with contraception and information about it. We distributed around 10,000 condoms last semester,” H*yas for Choice President Abby Grace (SFS ’16) said. The high level of student demand not only poses a logistical problem because the group is not financially supported by the university and therefore reliant on donations. “The thing that really gets me is not that they [the university] do not distribute it. Let’s just say that’s reasonable, but they don’t let The Corp or [Wisemiller’s] sell contraception. They’re two completely independent businesses,” Grace said. The N Street grocery and deli is located on university-owned property. A large amount of attention has been devoted to pushing for sexual health reform, as many are frustrated that an elite university such as Georgetown has such restrictive policies. In Trojan Brand Condoms’ 2014 Sexual Health Report Card, Georgetown ranked 93 out of 140 college campuses (THE HOYA, “GU Ranks Low in Sexual Health,” Feb. 6, 2015, A1). While this rank puts it above all other Catholic universities, its often self-imposed limits create problems for students coming from communities where formal sexual education is minimal and the topic is barely discussed within the family. “I think generally students here are aware that they should use contraception,” Grace said. “But, for example … I grew up in Mississippi where there are basically only public schools where the only sex education that was approved was this abstinence-only teach-
ing, which provided absolutely no information whatsoever. Emily Lett (COL ’17), from Spotsylvania, Va., did not fully understand Georgetown’s policy on contraception until a few weeks into her freshman year, as there was little effort on the University’s part to reach out and engage students on these subject. While she personally was not affected by the policy, having already organized a prescription to be on the pill and already aware of how to get condoms off campus, the ban on selling contraception on campus still frustrates her. “I think mainly it’s because of where I’m from,” Lett said. “In middle school and high school, a lot of students were sexually active from a young age. From poorer places like that, sex education and resources are lacking. It makes me mad, because back home there are so many young girls who are pregnant because they don’t have access to education or resources, and it’s not fair to the child or the parent when it’s because they just didn’t have access to protection or didn’t understand how it works.” In Lett’s graduating high school class, at least three girls were pregnant. “I just believe that contraception and information should be available to everyone, because it wasn’t where I grew up. And it makes me so mad that Georgetown isn’t better than Spotsylvania,” Lett said. Amy* (MSB ’17) has had unprotected sex with three people. Originally from New Jersey, she was sent to the Unitarian Universalist Church by her parents, where she had to take three years of sex education. When her parents, who were raised Catholic, found out that the church was providing such extensive sex education they pulled her out. See CONTRACEPTION, B2
THIS ISSUE CONTAINS SENSITIVE MATERIAL. IN SOME CASES, NAMES HAVE BEEN WITHHELD TO PROTECT ANONYMITY.
THIS WEEK CAMPUS LIFE
GENDER & SEXUALITY
TABOO
A Club-Induced Hookup Culture
Heteronormative Stereotypes
A Close Call with an Unexpected UTI
Campus organizations play a defining role in Georgetown’s social climate, often planting the seeds of love and lust. B3
The “double standard” is a concept that applies to all sorts of gender binaries. From monogamy to assumed libidos, students speak out. B5
A female student discusses her mishap with a UTI just before finals, and how her life was in more danger than she had realized. B9
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