Birth control: condoms

In the early 1990s, supplying free condoms at the high school was heavily debated and caused a commotion. At the time, the issue was brought up to encourage safe sex and help prevent the spread of AIDS.

According to school nurse Deirdre London, the school clinic has been able to give out condoms since 1993. Currently, condoms are available for free in the clinic and in the social workers’ offices. According to London, the only requirement for students to obtain condoms at the school is that they have to have taken freshman health and fitness.

“It was after the era of when people were very much aware and alert about HIV and AIDS and so forth,” said London. “That was the time that the School Committee agreed to supply them.”

London has been working in the clinic for about 20 years and has seen a slow change in the sexual culture.

“We are seeing it in younger and younger kids,” said London. “And that is the problem, because I don’t think the younger kids would use condoms; more of the older kids might use condoms. I think there is safer sex as they get older and more mature.”

While London thinks students’ sexual encounters are shifting down to a younger age, she is not seeing as many students taking advantage of the free condoms as she expects or would like to see.

“I don’t think enough of the younger kids use protection,” said London. “They think that is what the condom is for – to prevent pregnancy – but it isn’t. They think they have protection with the birth control pill, but they don’t realize that it is STIs we are worried about and not just pregnancy.”

London believes one problem with students’ attitudes towards sex comes from the fact that health and fitness is only taught during freshman year. She believes it should also be taught during junior year.

“If they have one more year, I think the maturation process that happens between someone who is a freshman and someone who is a junior is leaps and bounds,” said London.

Health and fitness teacher Keith Thomas felt strongly about repeating the health education.

“Health needs to be taught every year,” said Thomas. “Some of the issues we discuss, some kids aren’t even going to go through with it for the next two or three years, and you always need a refresher.”
In terms of condom use, Thomas said he feels as though students leaving his class knew how, when and why to use a condom.

“We talk about it a lot,” said Thomas. “How to raise the question of intercourse, the different consequences and how to use a condom if you decide to go forth.”

But Thomas said that discussions in his freshman health class rarely turn towards how and where to get condoms.

He acknowledges the issue of discomfort when approaching a school nurse.

Thomas thinks that students feel more comfortable going to a drug store than the school clinic because they may not want to interact with someone who may recognize their face in the school.

There is a variety of attitudes in the students asking for condoms, according to London.

“It is very funny because some kids will come in, come right to my desk and whisper ‘Can I have some condoms?’ ” said London. “And some kids will yell it from the door ‘Ms. Londy, get some condoms.’ Actually, sometimes the young women come in and feel comfortable doing it.”

London believes in the value of having condoms in the school but thinks many students are unaware of this availability.

“There are some schools in the state that still don’t agree to do that, some of the Massachusetts schools,” said London. “But we have since ‘93, and I think it is a wonderful thing. But I just don’t know how many kids take advantage of it, and I wish everybody would.”

(Read about birth control pills on page 3)