Problem
Our current vending machines on campus contain only non-descript condoms and tampons as the only safe sex and menstrual products. These vending machines are also chilled, which reduces the effectiveness of the only condoms students have easy access to. Additionally, the University Health Services office is closed at night and on the weekends, and most pharmacies are fairly far away, so students do not always have access to health products that they may need. The current products and services do not meet the needs of the students here at UAlbany.


Solution
To address this issue, we want health promotion vending machines that promote and protect the reproductive, sexual, and overall health of all UAlbany students. These health promotion vending machines would include barrier methods of contraception such as internal and external condoms, menstrual products including pads and tampons, and over the counter medications, including Advil, cough drops, Midol, and emergency contraception. Many of these products are difficult to come by when students need them the most, but health promotion vending machines would alleviate that issue.

The first step would be to fix the storage problem of condoms in the current vending machines, as well as improving the selection of health products students currently have access to. Our end goal is to have a health promotion vending machine on every quad, available for students to access at any time.

We, the undersigned, support Planned Parenthood Generation in their initiative to increase the accessibility to reproductive, sexual, and overall health products on UAlbany campus.