By Diedra Eby
The “ominous cabinet” that contains safe sex products. Photo by Diedra Eby.
Should condoms be kept behind closed doors? In my March 26, 2026 article, I made a point of letting Pima Community College students know how easily accessible condoms and other STI dams are on campus:
“Condoms are conspicuously available right there at the front desk at the Downtown Campus location, so sex can be pregnancy and STI free. But you don’t have to be conspicuous. Just dip your hand in and grab a handful as you pass by in a smooth move no one will even notice. Only you and your partner need to know how prepared you are when the time comes for action. Other campuses are equally accommodating, as we’ll soon discuss.”
At that time, although some of the displays were a bit more discreet (such as the one in the featured picture of the West Campus), the baskets were still open enough for the same subtle, grab-and-go action as at the Downtown Campus.
However, following my March 26, 2026 article “Sex on Campus: Freebies and Fun Facts,” I noticed that the condoms, tampons and sanitary pads on West Campus were moved to cabinets- behind closed doors.
I expressed concern, but was dismissed with “that’s where the games are.” Well, sex is games too!
Downtown Campus condom basket, pre- “Sex on Campus: Freebies and Fun Facts” article. Photo by Diedra Eby.
I reminded directors on campus that it was so liberating to be able to discreetly grab these products in passing, whereas now one must expose their interest in sexual protection and hygiene to everyone by actively opening a large, double-doored black cabinet in the center of the student lounge.
Is this the future of STI prevention at Pima Community College? Embarrassment and shame? Products behind closed doors?
Everyone once again knows when girls are menstruating and need hygiene products and when anyone needs prophylactics for protection against perilous infection? It’s nobody’s business. But having to open the doors of a big, black, ominous cabinet to access such items is a dead give away.
A humiliation that shouldn’t have to be enacted to access such necessary and life-saving items. This is a step back into the dark ages of the AIDs shaming era and the pre-”Philadelphia” result of post Roe vs. Wade, another symptom of Trumpism.
Shame should never be attached to sex. Bring the life-saving STI paraphernalia, as well as the tampons and other hygiene products, out of the closet and make it easily – and discreetly accessible as it was when I wrote the first “Sex on Campus” article to provide students with access without humiliation or embarrassment. This is the first step to protection from STIs. Easy access.
Why is discreet location and easy access this important? According to a 2021 study by the Center for Disease Control, there are 800 to 1000 out of 100,000 people in Arizona who have an STD. For context, this is the second highest STD rate per capita in the country.
“For sexually active persons, correct and consistent use of male latex condoms is highly effective in preventing many STDs,” according to the National Coalition of STD Directors.
But getting condoms can be costly, inconvenient or uncomfortable. What prompted me to write the original “Sex on Campus” article was my personal experience back in 1982. In order to get condoms for my first college sexcapades, I had to take the Boston subway clear across the city to Planned Parenthood and explain to someone who looked just like my mother why I wanted condoms. No one should ever have to do that.
It was mortifying and I almost went without even though I fully intended to have sex. Seeing the condom basket at the Downtown Student Lounge campus so accessible where a student could get what they need without embarrassment or explanation was liberating – a breath of fresh air. I cheered for my young counterparts, and it stirred my curiosity. So, I went on a hunt to see what the other campuses were doing.
Guess what? They were helping bring down the numbers of STIs among college students!
Along with donations from El Rio Health Center and SAAF (Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation), they had easily accessible baskets in plain sight filled with a variety of safe sex items such as dental dams, male and female condoms, lubricants and awesome safe sex kits from SAAF.
Other necessary steps, such as education, are in the packaging of SAAF’s Safer Sex Kit which provides both verbal and illustrative instructions on use of the enclosed condom and lube. The package also contains information about PREP and PEP and the contact numbers for their clinic which provides FREE testing and a syringe program (never share syringes).
Further education is also available on the SAAF website and through programs such as TRIO’s Talking Safe Sex with SAAF that was held on April 29 at the Desert Vista Center (and offered virtually).
I sincerely hope all young people will practice safe sex. Protect yourself against STIs because they are often symptom-free until they present with larger problems or they’ve been passed on to multiple partners.
Sex can and should be fun. Don’t let limited access to condoms be the reason that it’s not.
Some of the cabinets contents include STI dams, tampons and pads. Photo by Diedra Eby.