Boston College officials are threatening to take action against a group of students distributing condoms out of their residence rooms.
The students are part of the Boston College Students for Sexual Health (BCSSH), an organization with a goal to “fight for the health education and resources”students need.
Run by students, the BCSSH is independent and receives outside funding apart from Boston College, which is a Jesuit Catholic school.
BCSSH provides a network of “Safe Sites” across campus, which are locations where students can go for contraception and sexual health information. The organization also hands out condoms from campus dorm rooms and halls.
In a letter sent on Mar. 15 from school officials to all residence students, Boston College administration threatened disciplinary measures against the organization.
“While we understand that you may not be intentionally violating university policy, we do need to advise you that should we receive any reports that you are, in fact, distributing condoms on campus, the matter would be referred to the student conduct office for disciplinary action by the university,” the letter reads.
BCSSH was created in 2009 and now has 18 Safe Site locations on and off campus.
Lizzie Jekanowski, a fourth-year political science student and chair of the organization, said Boston College has always been “fully aware” of the organization’s activities. Though administration has expressed concerns over the distribution of condoms at the school, she says the issue has never gone this far.
“We’ve always had a very positive and open relationship with the BC administration,” Jekanowski said. “It’s always been a bit of a stalemate issue, but we’ve never been threatened with disciplinary action the way that we have at this point.”
“The Safe Sites program specifically seeks to fill the gap in resources left by the university, which refuses to provide sexual health services and information to students,” BCSSH said in a statement released Mar. 24.
Jekanowski said she is close with the letters’ two signatories, Paul J. Chebator and George Avery, and was “disappointed” they didn’t contact the organization before sending the letters to students.
She said she believes Boston College officials are penalizing students who are stepping up to become campus leaders and provide the medical care that the school does not.
The school’s threat of disciplinary action has received widespread attention, with some calling it a violation of legal rights.
The Massachusetts division of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has threatened legal action against the school and is currently consulting with the BCSSH. “We’re up to a fight if they are up for a fight, but we’d rather not fight about this,” Sarah Wunsch of the ACLU told the Boston Globe.
Despite the letters and Boston College’s threat of action, Jekanowski said BCSSH will “absolutely” continue distributing condoms to students.
She said she never expected the issue to receive so much attention.
“We are absolutely thrilled by the outpouring of support that we’ve received both on campus from students, from faculty, from parents and from BC alumni,” she said, adding that BCSSH is circulating a petition at Boston College for a sexual health resource centre.
According to BCSSH’s press release, the organization is currently meeting with the school’s administration.
“We look forward to taking this opportunity to work with Boston College, and to continue what has been a respectful and positive relationship with our administration,” Jekanowski said in the statement.
This isn’t the first time a Catholic university has been criticized for its stance on free condom distribution.
In 2012, the administration at Saint Paul University in Ottawa received widespread criticism after it banned its students’ association from handing out condoms.
