A friend of mine had recently brought to my attention that Hofstra University gives out free condoms almost everywhere. You can find them at the Wellness and Campus Living Center, upstairs of the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center and even in some of the resident assistant’s offices. While this is a great practice and incredibly encouraged, why is sexual safety taken more seriously than menstrual safety?

Sure, there are pad and tampon dispensers in some of the women’s and gender neutral restrooms on campus, but they are most often empty or close to empty. Women can find pads and tampons at one of the two on-campus stores, Dutch Treats or the Netherlands Cafe, for a small price of $6.79. It seems a little backwards to make us pay for products we need for a natural phenomenon we cannot control, but having sex is an choice and we are practically getting condoms thrown at us. I believe the reason that condoms are made more available is because Hofstra does not want any high teen pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease rates attached to the school’s records – as well as valuing reproductive and sexual safety for all.

But, is my vagina not also a reproductive and sexual organ that needs just as much, if not more, regulation than a penis does? It would be nice to see the change in what is socially recognized as reproductive and sexual health. By making a form of birth control free for thousands of hormonal teenagers and young adults, it gives the illusion that Hofstra is actively encouraging sexual behaviors but not supporting their students’ menstrual health.