Profile: The Condom Man Can

Who: Toby B. Kasper '97

Why: The Condom Man

Where: Kirkland House and Northhampton, Mass.

What: Social Studies.

How did you become the condom man? My freshman week I passed out condoms at one of the freshman mixers; since then people have said, "hey, it's the condom guy."

How many condoms do you give out per year? About 5,000.

Where do you get 5,000 condoms? From the Department of Public Health. I call them and they know me, and they send them to me. They're friendly.

Do you have a preferred condom? I give out Lifestyles and I like them. Trojans are too goopy.

How about colored or flavored condoms? Colored condoms are not as good so the state doesn't give them out. Flavored, however, I've heard they're good--a little chalky but not too bad.

How much sex do you think people are having at Harvard? Most Harvard students think that no one is having sex. I've had people come up and tell me they're having sex. That's one thing about being "The Condom Guy"--you learn a lot about people's sex lives. I get a lot of repeat users.

How does your distribution of condoms relate to Social Studies? Not that many people in Social Studies are having sex. They work us too hard.

Do you ever receive hostile reactions to your condoms distribution? I've been told that I'm promoting immorality and subverting the young and corrupting innocent people.

How did you get involved in AIDS education? I've been working since high school with a group doing youth health and youth empowerment issues, and AIDS education came up. It's something which interests me on a biological level, as well as a social epidemic.

What has AIDS education work done for you? I work at AIDS Action Committee in Boston. It's really broadened my mind and given me a sense of perspective that too many Harvard students lack. It definitely removes you from a self-absorbed world that too many Harvard students are trapped in. It gets you to think about your social responsibility and about the broader world.

Did you organize anything special for pre-frosh Weekend? I didn't do much for this year's prefrosh. Last year though, when I had pre-frosh, I scared them away--they met and my condoms simultaneously.

Do you have a general message to Harvard students? Realize that there's a world beyond your own. I'm in a rather negative mood. Today I ran into someone I know from the homeless shelter, his problems are just a little bit different than ours, and a bit more important.