Condom Week Designed to Educate

We are writing in response to the letter," Condom Week is Irresponsible," published in The Crimson on Feb. 22, 1994. Condom Week was sponsored between the 14th and 18th of this month by AIDS Education and Outreach, Contact, Peer Contraceptive Counselors and Students for Choice.

In the letter, a student called our efforts "irresponsible" and considered the expression "safe sex," as well as condom distribution, anachronistic.

That letter could be answered with another student's remark, overhead on a Shuttle bus: "I can't believe someone is complaining about people handing out free condoms."

However, we would like to take this opportunity to clarify our position to the student who wrote the letter, as well as to all Harvard and Radcliffe students. When handing out condoms, we take care not to talk about "safe" but about "safer" sex.

The only sex that can be considered safe is the lack of any physical contact, namely abstinence. We are conscious that is not the choice that many students make; we want to empower those students with the knowledge and the tools needed to practice safer sex.

For students considering or participating in sexual activities, barrier protection (condoms latex gloves and dental dams--or Saran Wrap in their absence) is necessary to prevent HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases or STD's Condom are also a way of protecting against unwanted pregnancy.

We are well aware that condoms only offer protection when they are effectively used. For that reason, we also gave out detailed instruction booklets that describe how to properly use a condom. In addition we distributed information on AID's Safer Sex and HIV tests.

Throughout the school year, we make presentations and some of use hold phone lines through which we confidentially answer questions regarding contraception, STD's sexual concerns and sexual orientation. We are trained as peer counselors and educators, and some of us are supervised and sponsored by UHS.

It is easy to neglect condom use, it is also easy to underestimate and dismiss its importance. All of us live on a campus where students do have sex; we are not trying to send mixed messages or be offensive when we distribute free condoms. We are merely trying to fulfill our role as peer counselors and educators. Suzanne Gutter '95   AIDS Education and Outreach   Quentin Topping   AIDS Education and Outreach   Daniela Bleichmar '96   AIDS Education and Outreach   Jafi A. Lipson '95   AIDS Education and Outreach   Amina Runyan-Shefa '97   Contact   Jeremy Faro '96   Contact   Melissa Strogatz '95   Peer Contraceptive Counselors   Nicole Armenta '95   Peer Contraceptive Counselors   Laing P.Foster '93   Peer Contraceptive Counselors   Nisha Atre '95   Students for Choice   Mike D. Evers '95   Students for Choice