Officials from Student Health and Stores Operations will be meeting next week to determine the fate of condom sales in snack vending machines.
This month, condoms were removed from the 14 snack vending machines in residential areas due to what was thought to be prohibitive cost. Quarter-operated condom dispensing machines located in dormitory bathrooms were also removed due to unreliable equipment, vandalism and high cost.
Student Health officials had calculated that selling The Pack, a packet containing two condoms, lubricant and instructions, in 17 snack vending machines this year would cost approximately $12,000, a $7,000 increase from last year's price.
But according to Director of Stores Operations Jim Wilkerson, "the information that they were given [about vending machine sales] was not a price quote and they did not realize that." Student Health could have continued to sell condoms through the 14 vending machines with no change in cost, Wilkerson said.
Administrators in Student Health have expressed interest in reinstating the condom sales program if a reasonable price can be reached, touting it as a way to provide easy access to condoms at all times.
While some of the original price calculations from Student Health were likely based on projections from the vending service concerning the revenue loss from replacing snacks with condoms, Wilkerson said that those estimates should not have been a direct source for determining the service's final price. Since condoms sell more slowly than candy bars, for example, the cost of selling condoms will reflect this fact, but revenue from condoms does not have to equal that of candy bars.
A full assessment of losses and gains in the vending service's revenue and the University's commission will produce the final cost to Student Health.
Approximately 1,500 condoms were sold through snack vending machines last year, while about 1,000 were sold via the 120 bathroom vending machines.
Condoms are currently available at the Healthy Devil, Pickens Family Clinic and the student infirmary at Duke Hospital South. While these condoms are free, only the student infirmary is open 24 hours a day.
Student Health is also continuing to look for alternative means of providing access to condoms, such as through volunteers in dorms and selective living groups.
Earlier this fall, administrators had discussed implementing a program that would place caddies full of free condoms in the guest bathrooms of all dorms. Because administrators could not find a way to make the packets of condoms tamper-proof, however, the program was never started.
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