Though Northwestern students joke about the lack of a campus dating scene, contraception is still a concern on campus.
The University of Oregon is trying to alleviate that concern on its campus by providing free birth control to students through a partnership with Planned Parenthood.
In July, Oregon and Planned Parenthood began providing free services to low-income students — those who report that their incomes are less than 180 percent of the poverty rate.
Women formerly deterred by the pills’ cost now can receive free birth control pills, including Depo-Provera, Norplant and the “morning after” pill. More than 275 students have taken advantage of the program.
Oregon’s funding comes from the Family Planning Expansion Project, a Medicaid pilot project attempting to reduce teenage pregnancies.
Unlike Oregon, NU is a private institution and receives no federal support, said Mary Croisant, a women’s health nurse practitioner at Searle Student Health Service. NU also has no partnership with the Planned Parenthood branch in Chicago.
Because of NU’s situation, Croisant said she sees “no prospect of free birth control at Northwestern either in the near or far future.”
Searle and peer health educators both offer free male condoms, and Searle offers other contraceptives for a price, including the pill, female condoms, the “morning after” pill and vaginal spermicide.
While these contraceptives are not free, they are cheaper than what is offered at a regular pharmacy or Planned Parenthood center.
For example, Searle charges $10 for a 28-day package of birth control pills. At Osco Drug, a patient can expect to pay $30.69 for one of the more common forms of birth control, Triphasil, or $23.99 for its generic counterpart, Trivora.
Planned Parenthood provides contraceptives at lower prices than most pharmacies. But its prices may vary, said Vasyl Markus, Planned Parenthood’s vice president of public policy.
The service “operates on a sliding scale and uses private contributions to help subsidize costs for college students,” he said. Some students may receive contraceptives for free, but they usually pay $26.
NU addresses the larger issues of contraception through its PHEs, who provide contraceptive information throughout the academic year and facilitate Responsibilities 101, a 45-minute tutorial for freshmen. Students discuss contraceptive options and statistics concerning sexual activity on campus at the session and learn that PHEs and health aides offer free condoms.
Medill freshman Kim Paymaster was unsure about the effectiveness of Responsibilities 101.
“I now know about health aides. Beyond that, it sort of became a joke,” she said.
Jessica Goethals, a PHE, said some students have responded to the program.
“While the receptiveness to the program depended on which part of campus you were on,” said Goethals, a Weinberg sophomore, “there were definitely people who really appreciated it.”
