Only a few weeks into her first year, Amanda Hillman ’16 (name has been changed) woke up alone in her bed on a Sunday morning. Her memories of the night before were fragmented, blurry moments with empty spaces between them. Two moments she did remember, however, were leaving Cro with a boy whom she had just met, and leaving his room alone a while later. When she woke up, Hillman didn’t know the boy’s name or telephone number to confirm the specifics of the night before, but she was certain of two things: they had sex, and she had no idea if they had used protection.
It was a Sunday morning. As a first year student, Hillman didn’t have a car on campus, and while one of her roommates had a ZipCar account, Hillman wasn’t a member of the service and therefore didn’t feel comfortable borrowing her roommate’s account (as per the rules of ZipCar’s membership). Instead, Hillman took the Camel Van to Target with two friends and, for $60, purchased Plan-B there even though Connecticut College’s Student Health Services (SHS) offers students the same emergency contraceptive for $25. The only problem? SHS isn’t open on the weekends.
This story may be all too familiar for many students on campus. Many of us have had this happen to a close friend; many of us have had this happen to ourselves. It can be gut-wrenchingly scary, and for students who may not have access to a car on campus, it can be a moment in which the joke of the isolated “Conn Bubble” becomes all too real. Party nights at Conn are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; the likelihood of a student needing emergency contraception on a Sunday morning is much higher than a student needing it on a Tuesday morning. And while some students may never find themselves in need of emergency contraception, all students at some point in their time at the College may be in need of medical care after normal hours.
Addie Poris ’16, the Freeman House Senator, has been working on addressing this issue since her first year when on a weekend within her first month at Conn she broke her foot. With no car of her own or friends with access to one, she spent two more days walking on her injured foot before accessing medical care.
I spoke to Cate Moffett, Director of Student Health Services, about what students should do if they find themselves in either of these situations. For emergency contraception, she said that it’s important to remember that emergency contraception is effective for 72 hours after having unprotected sex, so theoretically, a student who is in need of this over-the-counter medicine after a Saturday night can visit SHS early Monday morning and still be protected from an unplanned pregnancy. Just as well, students who are worried they may need emergency contraception at some point can walk into SHS and purchase it to have just in case (just be sure to check the expiration date).
Moffett stressed that it’s important to understand “what scenario[s] would really require [SHS] to be open,” and that the school and students should make all efforts to understand what options a student has when they’re in need of emergency contraception, or are simply sick when SHS is closed.
Moffett suggested that the campus community utilize our trained EMTs more than we currently do (which is mainly for athletic events and assisting students who have consumed too much alcohol). Student leaders on campus, such as Housefellows, could also be trained in discussing with a student who feels that they may need medical care after SHS is closed what their options are.
We’ve all been sick at some point, and many of us have experienced the feeling of becoming so consumed and anxious about our health that we think we’re sicker than we are when all we really need is an objective opinion telling us it’ll be okay. The closest outside clinic from Conn, Backus Health Center, is a mere five-minute drive up Route 32. A phone call to Harry’s Taxi informed me that a cab to Backus would cost “in the low teens,” but because of Backus’s close proximity to Conn, perhaps the Camel Van could, upon request from an individual student, finish its route with a quick stop there.
Sal Bigay ’16, SGA’s Chair of Residential Affairs, has been working closely with Poris to spearhead an initiative to have SHS be open for at least part of the weekends. “It was one of our first goals in August,” Bigay said, adding that the resolution was written in mid-October. Poris and Bigay, along with Moffett and CC Curtis, Director of Student Wellness and AOD Education, created the Community of Care Committee. Two weeks ago, a resolution written by Poris was supposed to be voted on by SGA, but Poris requested that the resolution be halted so the committee could meet and Curtis and Moffett could look over the resolution. With their approval on the resolution, SGA passed it the next week. Poris described the passing of this resolution as “setting in motion the avalanche of different movements that need to happen.”
Next, the Community of Care Committee will begin using the American College Health Association’s standards for medical care on a college campus and use that to shape what Conn’s medical care will look like. Currently, the resolution only impacts Student Health Services and not Student Counseling Services. Poris said that working to expand the hours of SHS is a long process, which she will continue to work on until she graduates, and that if students show an interest in also expanding the hours of SCS, she would write a resolution pertaining to that as well.
“This is not an us versus the administration [topic],” said Poris. Ensuring that all students are healthy (both physically and emotionally) is a high priority of just about everyone on campus, and Poris called it the “most glaring thing on the student body side that needs to be changed.” By expanding the hours of SHS, and hopefully one day SCS as well, the community at Conn will continue to feel that they are cared for in all possible ways. •
