Safer Sex On Campus

Concordia Sex Kit Distribution Centers Await Approval From CSU Council

NewsClay Hemmerich — Published January 11, 2011

“The plan is to have everything, or at least some of the [safe sex kit dispensers] ready to go [at] the end of March, beginning of April,” she said. “We want elections to die down and have an opportunity for it to be unpoliticized and also have the media attention it deserves instead of elections overshadowing it.”

The safe sex project’s fate is now in the CSU Financial Committee’s hands. A financial plan will be presented to and voted on by Council in February. If Council approves the plan, funding will come from the Special Projects Fund.

“Hopefully before then they’ll be able to get some seed money for this project to start,” said Pudwell.

CSU councillor Lex Gill said that initially there had been some discussion as to whether or not the project would be beneficial to students. One councillor was concerned about non-students taking the provided safe sex materials.

“Even if non-students are using it thats alright, Concordia students aren’t just having sex with Concordia students,” said Gill.

After council discussed the idea, most councillors said they fully supported the project that Pudwell and the stakeholders—Queer Concordia, 2110 Center for Gender Advocacy and Concordia Health Services—put forth.

“The Dean of Students Office is not 100 per cent committed yet, but they have been involved in discussions,” said Pudwell.

Pudwell and the stakeholders lobbying for safe sex dispensers on campus spurred the Policy Reform Committee to draft a proposal advocating sexual health and awareness. The Policy on Healthy Sexuality had been approved by the Custodial Committee and will be presented at the Wednesday council meeting.

One part of the policy outlines that this project would continue for at least five years.

“[The policy] incorporates a lot of things. It’s about anti-discrimination. We don’t want students to feel discriminated against whether it’s because of their sexuality or whether they just need info or want materials about sex,” said Pudwell. “We want a stigma-free campus.”

The policy also outlines the CSU’s support for clearly marked gender-neutral bathrooms and safe spaces, and zero tolerance for homophobia.

“In a lot of ways there are efforts towards [creating tolerance in sexuality] but the CSU hasn’t been that active in that role. We want to involve the CSU in a solid role,” said Pudwell. “Queer Concordia does a really good job already, keeping things stigma free. They have been a big player in [the project].”

This article originally appeared in Volume 31, Issue 18, published January 11, 2011.