It’s not uncommon to find free feminine hygiene products in bathrooms, or condoms for a few quarters in college dorms. Taking this trend a step further, the University of California, Los Angeles has installed a safe-sex vending machine in their health center.
The vending machine, located in UCLA’s Arthur Ashe Health and Wellness Center, dispenses condoms, birth control, pregnancy tests, and other health products for close to acquisition cost. It also sells school supplies, such as note cards.
Plan B, which is designed to reduce the risk of pregnancy within 72 hours after unprotected sex, is listed for $20, which is significantly cheaper than if bought at Walgreens or other name-brand stores.
UCLA students can purchase these products using campus cash, which is money often deposited by parents onto their students’ accounts to use at campus food and bookstores. Through this process, students can buy condoms, birth control, and more with their parents’ money but without their parents’ approval.
Some students at UCLA are concerned that the vending machines may have a negative impact on campus due to today’s quick hook-up culture. Those who may take advantage of the ready-on-demand products offered at discounts may not be educated about how to use them.
UCLA Vending Services will be surveying and sending figures on the number of health products sold, in order to see if the program is worth keeping around.
“I think the vending machines are a cool thing but I also feel like it’s important that people know how to use…birth control or emergency contraceptives, for example,” third-year psychobiology student Hannah Erickson said.
Another third-year psychobiology student, Aaron Knuteson, acknowledges the positives of the vending machines, however. ‘[I]t’s better to have easy access to these kind of products rather than have to go look for them, which can be difficult,” he said.
Neil Dwyer is a graduate of the University of Miami, a political and sports broadcaster, and a freelancer writer.
