Boston College Students Warned to Stop Handing Out Condoms on Campus

Officials from BC told an unsanctioned group of students that they're violating the school's values and policies.

A group of Boston College students could face disciplinary sanctions for handing out condoms on campus, an action officials from the school say goes against the college’s values and policy.

According to Boston College spokesman Jack Dunn, the students, members of a group called “B.C. Students for Sexual Health,” has been repeatedly warned about giving away free condoms to coeds.

The school’s Dean of Students and Director of Residential Life sent a letter to the group on March 15, after several meetings and discussions with its members over the past year. “All we ask of our students is that they respect these commitments. This particular group of students has been warned repeatedly that the public distribution of condoms is not congruent with the values and traditions of Boston College as a Jesuit, Catholic institution,” Dunn said in a statement sent to Boston magazine. Dunn said if the group “persists in their actions,” they will face disciplinary sanctions for violating university policy.

A section from BC’s student handbook and list of school policy states that unmarried couples should not be engaging in sexual activity at the residence halls.

The rule says:

Boston College adheres to the Church’s teachings with respect to sexual intimacy. Consequently, sexual activity outside the bonds of matrimony may be subject to appropriate disciplinary sanctions.

After receiving the latest warning about their actions, members of BCSSH started an online petition asking students to voice their support for handing out condoms to students at their dorms. “Support student freedom. Stand by our work to provide inclusive and comprehensive sexual health for all students,” the petition states.

A second petition was started earlier this year calling for access to contraceptives, birth control, and emergency contraception on campus, as well as “comprehensive and inclusive sexual health information.”

The group has a list of “Safe Sites,” where students in various dormitories can go to get protection and information about sexual health. According to the group’s website, the services the unofficial organization provides are meant to empower students to “make their own healthy and informed decisions.”

Lizzie Jekanowski, chair of BCSSH, told The Gavel, a news source for BC students, that she will “work to ensure that there is no risk present for the students who are simply fulfilling a student need on campus.”

Members of the group are scheduled to meet with administrators in April to discuss the situation.