Limited pharmacy hours and the fear of running into a classmate are just a few inconveniences college students face when accessing emergency contraceptives. That’s why Stanford University’s new vending machine sells Plan B and condoms instead of soda and candy.

Vending machines don’t subject students to the embarrassment that comes with watching the cashier — who clearly knows what you did last night — ring up your Plan B. More importantly, they show how other universities are falling behind when it comes to opening access to reproductive health services.

Stanford’s vending machine sells a generic morning-after pill at the relatively low cost of $25. That’s cheap in comparison to what you’d find at CVS to buy emergency contraception — a pill that retails at about $50 a pop — or even Syracuse University’s Health Services, which will set you back $39.

Andy Mendes | Digital Design Editor

And Stanford isn’t alone. The University of California, Davis has had a “Wellness” vending machine full of pregnancy tests, tampons and Advil since April. U.C. Davis initially rejected the plan for the machine, but student activists fought back, and the machine was installed. It may be time for SU students to speak up and make health care that much more accessible on this campus.

During the 2016-17 academic year, the SU Health Services pharmacy sold 147 packages of emergency contraceptives, said Michele Frontale, supervising pharmacist at SU Health Services. Students are clearly utilizing Health Services to get the reproductive products they need and are saving money by not buying the pill from a convenience store.

Still, there are obstacles to accessing Health Services. The office is only open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is closed Sundays, which conflicts with the pills being most effective when used within hours after unprotected sex.

But Frontale said she doesn’t think a vending machine stocked with contraceptives would actually benefit the campus. Going to Health Services means students can talk with a pharmacist about the side effects of emergency contraception and decide if it’s necessary, she said.

“A lot of students that try to get (emergency contraception) are very regular on their birth control and just get scared, in which case they shouldn’t be scared,” Frontale said. “And adding more birth control and hormones makes you more sick. So for that person, the education saves them $39 and some nausea.”

Andy Mendes | Digital Design Editor

It’s impossible for a vending machine to provide medical advice on par with that of a pharmacist. But when it comes to reproductive health, it’s tough for students to suck it up and just ask for what they need when they need it.

That reluctance, coupled with a lack of sex education, means students may miss out on critical health services. Even if a vending machine isn’t right for every campus community, the idea should spark a conversation on how colleges can improve students’ access to health care, especially when it comes to reproductive health.

It’s SU’s obligation to provide for students, and if there’s anywhere it should go the extra mile, it should be in health. But it can only do that if students speak up and incite these initiatives, the same way students did at Stanford and U.C. Davis.

Joanna Orland is a junior newspaper and online journalism major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at jorland@syr.edu.

Published on October 17, 2017 at 12:30 am