Council Backs Off Decision To Install Condom Machines

In a meeting which broke out into pandemonium, the Undergraduate Council last night debated the morality of placing condom machines in the Houses and Yard dorms and eventually decided to put off a decision in favor of further debate.

The council's final resolution, which followed two hours of impassioned debate on an initial proposal by Noam Branson '91 to install condom machines, was to send a letter to all House Committees "strongly urging" them to hold a widely publicized meeting to discuss condom machine distribution.

Concerning the freshmen, who lack a standardized apparatus for decision making, the council resolved to have its freshmen members publicize an open meeting of the class of '91 to discuss the condom issue.

Many council members, however, last night left Sever Hall, the site of the weekly meeting, confused as to what the body had actually decided.

"The resolution should have been tabled," saidrepresentative Frank E. Lockwood Jr. '89. "Themeeting was pandemonium. Half of the people don'tknow what they voted on--it should have beentabled."

Former chairman of the Finances Committee,Theodore C. Liazos '89 said the meeting was "totalconfusion." The real problem was "at the end ofthe debate, no one had a chance to have theirsay," he added.

The resolution introduced by Bramson, a memberof the Services Committee, called for thedistribution of the condom machines saying that"greater prevention and education is needed,"concerning AIDS. If the original resolution hadbeen passed the council would have sent a letterto all House Committee encouraging their help inthe effort.

After a lengthy amendment process, which attimes confused council members, this initialproposal was defeated and a compromise proposalcalling for further debate on the idea of condommachines was passed.

Robert Weissman '88-89 offered an ammendementthat the council's letter "acknowledge thatcondoms are also a birth control measure."

Four-year council member Andreas Beroutsos '88pointed out that mentioning the idea of birthcontrol would "offend and alienate" Harvard'swhose church teaching opposes birth control.

Beroutsos comments set off a lengthy debate ofthe moral implications of placing the machines inthe dormitories. Bramson opposed Beroutsos' moralargument saying "no one would be forced to buy anycondoms."

"The consideration of preventing an unwantedpregnancy has to outwiegh any religiousconsideration," Bramson added.

The council narrowly passed the ammendment toinclude information about birth control.

Liazos then offered an ammendment which wouldsignificantly reduce the text of the proposedletter, and open the decision on condom machinedistribution to a "binding, campus-widereferendum."

"This issue is qualitatively different thandeciding on when shuttle busses should run," saidLiazos. "The best forum for debating issues ofAIDS and birth control is among the student body."

"Former vice-chairman of the council Amy B.Zegart '89 said "the referendum will take too muchtime and won't have any tangible effects."

"Sending this decision back to the studentsundermines the representative nature of this body.We're here to make decisions," concurred Bramsom.

After this ammendment was over-whelminglydefeated the meeting lost its center.

Amid desk banging, shouting, and movement inthe assembly, Deena R. Bernstein '88 offered anammendement which would call for a "bindingreferendum" on a house-by-house basis.

After twenty minutes of debate on thisammendment, Mandery asked this ammendment, Manderyasked Bernstein to write a text of the ammendmentjust before shouting from the gallery as membersfelt the written text was different from theammendment they had debated.

In a council vote, which quickly degeneratedinto a shouting match, the ammendment wasoverwhelmaingly defeated.

Gregory R. Schwartz '89 offered the finalammendement to send the letter in the "spirit ofcompromise."

Schwartz asked to insert the measure callingfor House Committee meetings and an open forum offreshman, which will be widely publicized todiscuss the issue of condom distribution