Free condom dispensers are now located in residence hall bathrooms to give students the option of obtaining protection in private if they plan to have sex.

Condoms are available in both the men’s and women’s bathrooms on the first floor of each residence hall including Johnson-McFarlane, Halls, Towers, Nelson and Nagel. Each dispenser holds 136 Trojan and Durex brand condoms.

The condoms are currently free as long as they are being used for their intended purpose. DU Peer Educators (DUPE’D) provided a disclaimer with the dispensers, urging only those who need the condoms to take them.

“We do advocate that if two consenting adults choose to engage in sexual activities, they do so safely. Please only take the amount of condoms that you NEED. We have a limited budget and we want all who need condoms to have access to them, so make sure to leave some for your peers in need,” reads the disclaimer.

DUPE’D and Housing and Residential Education collaborated on the project after finding that many students were too embarrassed to take condoms from the bowl previously located at the front desk of each residence hall, according to Alex Gross, DUPE’D coordinator.

“Studies have found that students, especially females, would rather have unprotected sex instead of going to a public location for a condom, where they might face embarrassment or possible stereotyping,” said Gross.

DUPE’D purposefully sought out a location that would be private and accessible to students to reduce such embarrassment.

“I think that it’s a great idea to have them in the dorm buildings and the bathroom is a discrete place,” said freshman Sophie Fritz.

The idea was born after a DUPE’D brainstorming session involving the issues of stereotyping and increased sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates.

According to Gross, the condoms are being taken at a very fast rate from the machines.

If the Health and Counseling Center (HCC) starts seeing reductions in STI cases, then the program might be one of the causes, but Gross says it is too early to tell.

The HCC has reported a rise in students getting contraception during fall quarter and if students have any questions regarding contraception or their sexual health they should call 303-871-2205 or visit www.du.edu/duhealth.