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CARESSA RICE
Shippensburg univer-
sity caused much controversy
when they made Plan B - “the
morning-after pill” - available
"in a vending machine on cam-
pus. Plan B is an emergency
contraceptive taken up to 72
hours after sex to stop the
sperm from meeting the egg.
The vending machine
was first brought onto campus
2 years ago when the Univer-
sity conducted a survey on
health center services, in
which 85% of students said
that they would like a contra-
ceptive like Plan B made
readily available. Common
drugs like ibuprofen, antacids,
and aspirin have been availa-
ble in vending machines for a
while, but these drugs are not
kept behind pharmacy coun-
ters.
Normally, one must
be 17-years-old to purchase
the pill without a doctor’s pre-
scription, though the school
has checked their records and
reported that all current stu-
dents are 17-years-old or old-
er. Students at Shippensburg
University can acquire the pill
for $25 at the schools health
center, though it’s normally
sold for 50 dollars. The vend-
ing machine also carries con-
doms, pregnancy tests, and
cough drops.
The president of Ship-
pensburg University Bill
Ruud contacted the FDA and
invited officials to visit the
campus and review the way
the school is dispensing the
pill. Alexandra Stern, a pro-
fessor of the history of medi-
cine at the University of
Michigan, said she wasn't
questioning a woman's right
to have access to Plan B, but
whether making it so easily
available is a good idea.
"Perhaps it is personalized
medicine taken too far," she
said in the Cumberland Coun-
ty newspaper, The Sentinel.
"It's part of the general trend
that drugs are available for
consumers without interface
with a pharmacist or doctors.
This trend has serious Dpit-
falls." A dozen people associ-
ated with a website called
Polycarp.org protested at the
school on Friday, February 17
because of the schools choice
to have this vending machine.
The group called the distribu-
tion of the pill “outrageous”
and contend “the university
should be in the business of
providing education, not abor-
tion,” according to
whptv.com.
Although some op-
pose the Plan B pill being
available in vending machines
on campus, most students
support it. Freshman Morgan
Jackson said "Yes, I do sup-
port the Plan B morning-after
pill being available in vending
machines on campus. I be-
lieve that it offers a discreet
and easy way for students to
get a hold of contraceptives
without having to face embar-
rassment or judgment at the
cash register in a public store.
Here, all the student has to
face is a nurse who accompa-
nies them to the vending ma-
chine.” Justin Wiles, a sopho-
more, said “I support easy
access to any form of contra-
ceptives on campus. If stu-
dents are going to engage in
sexual activity it seems right
to provide them ways to pro-
tect themselves from unwant-
ed pregnancies which would
drastically affect the lives of
the parents and the future
child. Having Plan B availa-
ble on campus helps provide a
responsible way for students
to prevent a potentially devas-
tating situation.”
mains in the vending machine
on the university’s campus.
ALEX WYPIJEWSKI
After the ousting of
Egyptian President Hosni Mubar-
ak about a year ago, Egypt has
been run by a military-led primar-
ily Islamist government. Ac-
cording to The New York Times,
the country’s economy is now in
urgent need of billions of dollars’
worth of foreign aid. America is
in the process of securing $1.55
billion in aid this year, but
Egypt’s recent raids on as many
as nine American-funded non-
profit aid organizations and trial
of 43 people, 19 of which are
American, has almost acted as a
way to provoke an “American
backlash,” as reported by. The
New York Times.
These persecutions seem
to indicate that the Egyptian mili-
tary rulers are negotiating with
the Islamists who occupy the new
Egyptian Parliament to make
Egypt a primarily Islamic State.
America is trying to make Egypt
a democratic state, and the Egyp-
tian leadership is trying its best to
both keep America’s 30-year aid
commission and turn Egypt into
an Islamic state. The terms to our
aid, however, state that Egypt
must be on the path to Democracy
if we are to keep sending them
support. Even past president
Hosni Mubarak was quoted say-
ing that he was “deeply skeptical
of the U.S. role in democracy
promotion.”
Recently, however, these
Americans have been given the
permission to leave the country,
according to the Los Angeles
Times. “Egyptian relations with
the United States are hanging in
the balance in this trial and no
judge would want to be the man
making a ruling that could ham-
per or jeopardize such relations,"
said Mahmoud Abdel Razek, a
law professor at the University of
Zagazig, Egypt. Popular belief is
that the ruling came from heavy
political pressure on prosecutor
general, Abdel-Maguid
Mahmoud. According to the San
Angelo Standard-Times, bail for
the 7 American workers has been
set at $300,000 each.
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