Boston College threatens to punish students for handing out condoms on campus
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. Boston College is threatening to punish a group of students who are giving out condoms in their dorms and on campus sidewalks.
Earlier this month, school officials sent a letter demanding that students take down a network of locations where free contraceptives and safe-sex information are available, CBS Boston reports.
"The students have repeatedly ignored warnings," BC spokesman Jack Dunn told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Wednesday. "The dean sent the letter to the students saying their actions were incongruent with the Jesuit Catholic values of Boston College and asked them to cease in this activity."
The safe sites network is sponsored by an unrecognized group working to improve sexual health education.
Now, the ACLU has threatened to take legal action if BC follows through with its threat of discipline.
"Jack Dunn needs to think about the state's civil rights act and its applicability to private parties and they should not be threatening students with disciplinary action," ACLU attorney Sarah Wunsch told WBZ.
"I don't think the ACLU has standing in this matter," Dunn said. "As a private institution we reserve the right to set our policies and to hold our students accountable to those policies."
Lizzie Jekanowski, chairwoman of BC Students for Sexual Health, told The Boston Globe the administration has known about the condom giveaway for two years yet has never before threatened action.
"We were very disappointed that the signatories of the letter never contacted us beforehand," she told the Globe. "We've had a very open relationship, and it's been very positive. This letter was very war-mongering and threatening."