In an almost-unanimous vote, Bowdoin Student Government’s (BSG) General Assembly voted to purchase $500 worth of condoms and dental dams for upperclassmen housing. The initiative, which was introduced for the second year in a row, was proposed by Tessa DeFranco ’21 to address a lack of access to contraceptives and sexual protection in many residential areas.

“Right now [condoms and dental dams] are only available in the health center and on the first-year floors, and not every student knows what’s available to them,” DeFranco said. “We really just need to eliminate as many barriers to access as we can.”

According to BSG president Mohamed Nur ’19 the project will be a joint effort between BSG’s student affairs committee and the Office of Residential Life (ResLife). BSG will purchase condoms and dental dams for upperclassmen residential buildings, such as Brunswick Apartments, Coles Tower and Chamberlain Hall. ResLife will then coordinate with the Residential Assistants in those buildings, who will distribute the condoms and dental dams to residents.

“There should be condoms everywhere, all the time,” said Developmental Rep to Diversity and Inclusion Lily Tedford ’22.

Tedford argued that, while it should be the job of ResLife—not BSG—to purchase condoms for the student body, BSG should take pride in spearheading the project.

In addition to assessing the proposal on condoms and dental dams, BSG was joined by Executive Director of Career Planning Kristin Brennan, who offered insights into the future of Career Planning at Bowdoin and answered student questions.

BSG also debated the merits of a proposal that aimed to increase the fairness of student government elections by limiting the number of official campaign posters available to candidates, depending on whether they chose to run individually or on a joint ticket. BSG has until after Spring Break to choose the best system before elections occur in April.