Chelsea Lennox, a junior at Boston College, has long been a part of The organization Boston College Students for Sexual Health, a group that regularly spreads information regarding "S.T.I. facts, birth control choices...and Planned Parenthood locations and resources." However, just recently, Ms. Lennox and her fellow students received a letter from their administration urging them to cease the group's distribution of condoms to students, a note signed by the Dean of Students and the Director of Residential Life at Boston College. As a Catholic university, school officials argued that such a distribution was "not congruent with [their] values and traditions."
In
the letter, Boston College's administration acknowledged the group's
harmless, potentially beneficial aims to aid their student body, yet it
also advised that the group stop their distribution of condoms
immediately, or else face disciplinary action by the university. While a
meeting between the group and their administration has been reserved
for April 29, a conflict has arisen concerning
"how sexual health practices and Jesuit teaching should coexist in
contemporary college life."
Jack Dunn, a
spokesperson for the college, stated, "As a Jesuit, Catholic university,
there are certain Catholic commitments that we are called to uphold."
Lizzie
Jekanowski, a senior and a group chairman, responded, "Students are
going to be having sex regardless, and unless they have the education to
know that you need to use a condom every time...and unless they have
them available, they're not going to use them."
Whereas
some conservative Boston College students have opposed such actions
writing letters against the distribution of condoms, arguing that
"hand[ing] out condoms on campus...puts an idea in their head," other
students, like former student Scott Jelinek, think the distribution
"help[s] normalize the presence of condoms, whereas before, they were
super taboo."
Regardless, current leaders of
the organization were shocked by the letter, considering the many
previous years without any serious trouble. The question became: "Why
the threat now?"
As of now, however, Ms. Jekanowski and Ms. Lennox are planning on continuing their practices into the next week.
Questions:
Why do you think Boston College has all of a sudden cracked down on
student-run condom distribution? Do you think that Boston College's
administration has overreacted? How do you think sexual health practices
and Jesuit teaching should coexist in contemporary college life at
Catholic schools? What's should be more important at Boston College:
retaining Catholic tradition and conservatism or adapting to fit
widespread college hook-up culture?
