BCSSH, Bell Exchange Words on CoRo

On the Friday of Halloween Weekend, members of Boston College Students for Sexual Health (BCSSH) were distributing condoms near McElroy Commons when Karl Bell, assistant director of the Student Programs Office (SPO), challenged them regarding their rights to distribute at that location.

According to Nick Domino, BCSSH member and A&S '12, Bell challenged them in an effort to make sure members of BCSSH remain informed on their distribution rights and to ensure that the conversation continues to happen with young members.

"BCSSH is a very young group right now," said Domino. "[Some of the students] who were distributing condoms did not know about our constitutional right and the paperwork we have regarding what [property belongs to Newton versus what belongs to BC]."

BCSSH distributes condoms periodically on the sidewalks of College Road – on Newton property.

Jessika Parry, chair of BCSSH and A&S '14, said, "BCSSH met directly with Karl Bell [that Friday] and the incident was resolved."

When approached about the discussion, Bell clarified questions about BC's distribution policy.

"Policy governs BC," he said. "There is a code of conduct that all students should follow. We have no policy that governs activity that doesn't happen at BC, and condoms are not distributed on campus. If they are though, students will be subject to the [University's] blanket distribution policy.

"In regard to the distribution policy, what folks do on public property can't be sanctioned by BC," Bell said. "But students' activity outside of BC affects everyone. We need to better understand where we are and our responsibility as a result of where and who we are. It's not an accident that we're at Boston College. The distribution of condoms wherever will pale in comparison."

Bell continued by saying that the distribution of condoms does not align with BC's Jesuit Catholic identity.

"Distributing condoms is not against the law, but it is just not in keeping with our values as a Jesuit Catholic university," he said. "There is a misunderstanding of the Church's position on this issue – the Church promotes safe sex, but sex within the context of marriage.

"BC has an absolute responsibility to set the world aflame through its commitment to Jesuit Catholic ideals," Bell said. "Sex outside the context of marriage is not in line with those ideals. It's an affront to our ideals."

Changes are currently being made to the SPO/RSO handbook to explicitly outline a distribution policy. "We're changing everything," Bell said. "There was no explicit distribution policy prior to this year. Though this handbook governs RSOs only, all students are accountable to the student code of conduct."

With the SPO/RSO procedural handbook, when any Registered Student Organization (RSO) signs on, they agree to these policies. The Office of the Dean for Student Development (ODSD) is working on a tantamount segment in the student conduct book.

"A policy around distribution will not be enforced in [the city of] Boston," he said. "What you do outside of Boston College is what you do outside of Boston College, but anyone that wants to distribute materials on campus must have approval from the University."

In this regard, Bell said that the name "BCSSH" is a misnomer. "The BC implies sanction and approval," he said. "BCSSH is not an RSO, so they are not subject to RSO policies."

However, Bell said that the current distribution practices of BCSSH cannot be regulated as they distribute on public property. "BCSSH is meeting the mandate by not doing what they're doing on BC property," he said. "But, they could never hand out condoms in the Quad."