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Wayland Student Press

The student news site of Wayland High School

Wayland Student Press

The student news site of Wayland High School

Wayland Student Press

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UPDATED: WHS proposes condom availability for students

Wayland High School is considering a new condom availability policy due to the low rate of protections against sexually transmitted diseases among the student body. (Credit: WSPN Staff)

UPDATED: The condom availability policy was approved on January 31st.

In November, the Wayland High School Health Office issued a proposal to make condoms available at the school to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The issue was raised when a medical professional parent reached out to the school nurse, Amy Schoeff, to talk about why condoms were not available at WHS. After conversations with students and reviewing the 2008 Youth Behavior Survey results, Schoeff had also noticed a high rate of sexual activity and a low rate of protection against STIs in the student population.
With the support of Principal Patrick Tutwiler, school guidance counselors, the Board of Health and WHS parents, the Health Office decided to take action.

Students often think of condoms as a means for preventing pregnancy, but they may not consider preventing the spread of STIs. According to an estimate by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half of the nineteen million new cases of sexually transmitted infections each year occur in people from ages 15-24.

“I think [condoms] are important because so many high school kids think about pregnancy and how to prevent it, but they don’t think about the diseases, some that you could have forever. Then, there you are with this [disease] for the rest of your life,” said Schoeff. ” I hope that this [making condoms available] will enable kids to ask more questions.”

According to Schoeff and Tutwiler, while nothing is 100 percent certain yet, the plan to give condoms to students who ask would include an educational session. The first time a student requests protection, they would have a conversation with the school nurse or their guidance counselor.

This conversation would include a discussion of how students can protect themselves against STIs, general information about STIs, and an explanation of how to use a condom. The discussion would also reinforce the concept that abstinence is the best way to prevent pregnancy and STIs.

The student would then receive a booklet with information and instructions about condoms, along with a condom. After the initial visit, the student could receive condoms without the educational conversation.

“A major distinction I want to make is that this is condom availability, not condom distribution,” said Tutwiler. “I’m not going to stand in the middle of the Commons and hand out condoms. There is a process.”

The proposal will be sent to the Wayland School Committee for approval sometime in January. Information on the policy has already been shared in Tutwiler’s Friday newsletter. This allowed parents to give feedback on the policy so that the Board of Health could make necessary changes.

So far, there has been overwhelming support for the condom policy at Wayland High School, but despite this, students have concerns about  the educational procedure. Many have expressed the opinion that getting condoms from a member of the administration would be uncomfortable.

“That’s awkward,” said senior Katie Conley in response to the proposal. “I wouldn’t want to go talk to a guidance counselor. I’d rather go to the drug store.”

Junior Alli Diamond added, “People [would] feel embarrassed to go to the nurse, so nobody would go get them…it’s a joke.”

Wayland isn’t the first Massachusetts high school to adopt this policy. Lincoln-Sudbury High School established a condom availability policy 19 years ago, followed by Lexington, Newton South, Newton North and Brookline High School.

Said a WHS teacher who wished to remain anonymous, “I support the idea of having them available to promote safe sexual decisions, but it shouldn’t be perceived as encouragement [to have sex]. I think it’s a good policy, but there’s a fine line because you want kids making healthy decisions and taking it seriously because it’s a serious decision.”

This belief that condom availability encourages sex and, as a result, increases the number of students having sex has been a concern with the proposal. But according to a study published by The American Journal of Public Health in 2003, condom availability programs in public high schools in Massachusetts do not increase sexual activity.

The study showed that 42% of students in schools with condom availability programs reported ever having had sexual intercourse, compared to the 49% of students in schools without condom availability programs.

In addition, 72% of sexually active study participants in schools with condom availability programs reported using condoms at last intercourse, compared to the fifty-six percent 56% of sexually active study participants in schools without condom availability programs.

Both Principal Tutwiler and Nurse Schoeff feel strongly that the new policy will have a positive effect on the protection of Wayland High School students.

“Adopting such a program is in keeping with the district’s efforts to keep students healthy,” said Tutwiler.

View Comments (13)
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Comments (13)

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  • H

    HAPPY :)Jan 20, 2011 at 10:25 PM

    SCORE!!!!

    Reply
  • S

    SashaJan 12, 2011 at 11:31 AM

    Switzerland is an exception to the rule Zizza. America's level of education does not measure up to Switzerland's. They have to get many many permits to own a gun, the Swiss are very careful when it comes to guns. So lets please move that aside.

    Just like you said if you had a gun you may kill someone, thats exactly the point. Look at what happened this weekend! Partly as a result of sarah palin's post lets get the rest of them, many are killed and injured. and guess what if guns were outlawed to civillians then maybe this wouldnt of happened!!
    we are not Switzerland, we are in the US where many people feel they need to protect themselves! from what? people with guns…

    yes back to the condom debate! what do people think about have condoms available in WMS? (wayland middle school)
    plus what about revamping the heath education program when it comes to sex and relationships?

    Reply
    • W

      wowJan 19, 2011 at 3:12 PM

      anybody that blames sarah palin in anyway for the killings is a moron.

      Reply
  • S

    SashaJan 7, 2011 at 8:13 AM

    sadly, not all kids make smart choices. they may have sex at an early age. and ya i'd rather have the condoms available for free than go out and pay $15. maybe those kids aren't mature enough, but at least they will do it safely!

    by the way, i can get the exact stats on this, but research has been done on schools that have condoms available and there is a decrease in STIs and decrease in teen pregnancy rates. hmmm…. it doesnt work?
    it is like the gun issue, if we have guns available for civilians to buy them then shootings and deaths will increase. if we dont allow it, then there will be less deaths. its not a complicated idea.

    but it is awkward to go get them. maybe the condoms should be placed in an area where it is not so obvious that a student is getting them.

    Reply
    • Z

      zizzaJan 9, 2011 at 7:38 PM

      Sasha, while you may be correct on the condoms, you are very wrong on the gun ownership. More guns does NOT always equal more deaths.

      Switzerland is the best example, with over 2 million pistols and rifles in homes across the country you would assume they had a high amount of gun related crimes and deaths, along with an overall higher crime rate. Not the case! Shockingly the Swiss have the lowest crime rate in the world

      It is all about gun training, which most of the citizens take part in. See if someone handed me a gun, chances are yes I would end up hurting someone. But when you implement training and arm everyone, the chances of someone getting hurt, or even trying to taking part in a crime goes down significantly.

      Reply
      • S

        seniorJan 10, 2011 at 8:40 PM

        Are you seriously making this case days after an assassination attempt against a United States congresswoman in the state with some of the loosest gun laws?! Arizona gets a 2/100 when it comes to gun safety according to the pro-gun control group the Brady Campaign… Switzerland is peaceful because of other factors

        Reply
        • Z

          zizzaJan 11, 2011 at 12:55 AM

          While we can all agree that there was a deep tragedy in Arizona, I can safely say that with IMPROVED gun safety and training the situation would have had a better outcome. While I truly despise meaningless death, especially to that poor nine year old, I believe that if someone in the crowd had a gun on them the deaths would have been cut in half.

          Not to mention, had more guns been knowingly present JLL would have made second guesses about going through with his plan. Sorry about being off-topic.

          Reply
  • A

    ahdJan 6, 2011 at 2:38 PM

    Great article. Thanks for the info. Hopefully kids will use the program…

    Reply
  • O

    openminded20Jan 6, 2011 at 9:29 AM

    Well it doesn't matter what any of us think because its going to happen whether you have a condom or not. So I feel that it is a good idea for the school to propose this idea, and I hope students use their resources.

    Reply
  • S

    SashaJan 5, 2011 at 10:32 AM

    and thank you so much ladies for writing this article!! very well written and on a controversial topic as well!

    Reply
  • S

    SashaJan 5, 2011 at 10:30 AM

    this is a great article!!!! its funny i did a research paper on this recently and sti rates go down significantly when condoms are offered at schools!!! this is a great step in the correct direction!!! kids are more likely to go get it here than having to pay for it somewhere else. i also think it should be offered in middle school to. yes kids those ages do think about sex and some of them do have sex at an early age, so why not have condoms available???
    by having condoms available in school we are not saying "go have sex" we are telling them to have sex safely!!! if we know that kids are already having sex, why not give them something that will help them make safer choices!
    im glad WHS is making the correct choice about this, rather than shoving it in the closet and pretending its students dont engage in sexual activities!

    Reply
  • O

    openminded20Jan 5, 2011 at 7:58 AM

    I don't think its a matter of being "chicken" I just think that people don't think about the future they are only concerned about the NOW because if you can a condom on you or not its not a guarantee its going to be used.

    Reply
  • N

    nobodyJan 4, 2011 at 1:09 PM

    I think that if you're too chicken to go out and buy your own condoms, you should probably not be having sex.

    Reply
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UPDATED: WHS proposes condom availability for students