Condoms on Campuses Questioned : Colleges: Several Ventura County trustees want to limit distribution of prophylactics. They may act when the district reviews its AIDS policy.

Distribution of condoms at Ventura, Oxnard and Moorpark colleges to curb the spread of the AIDS virus is drawing sharp criticism from several members of the Ventura County Community College District Board of Trustees.

Trustees Gregory Cole, Timothy Hirschberg and Allan Jacobs want condom machines removed from restrooms on the campuses and want college officials to stop giving away prophylactics purchased with taxpayer money.

The three trustees say they will consider limiting the distribution of condoms when the district policy on AIDS comes up for review in March or April.

Currently, Oxnard and Ventura colleges give away condoms purchased with district funds at student health centers. Although officials at the two colleges could not provide details on how much public money was used for the distribution, Ventura spent about $80 on condoms that were given to students last year.

Machines dispensing condoms for 25 cents have been placed in restrooms at Moorpark College and were installed last week in the administration building at Oxnard College. Moorpark health advocates say they plan to start giving out prophylactics--purchased with donated funds--at the student health center and at special campus events.

But Cole said he did not think providing condoms is the mission of the college district.

“If students wish to get a condom, they can purchase them at a drugstore or at the student bookstore,” he said. “That to me is the end of the issue.”

The district’s Wellness Committee, which includes nurses from the three campus health centers and other district employees, is planning to meet at the end of the month to discuss the trustees’ concerns and work out the final version of the district’s policy to send to the board.

Cole said he is gearing up for a fight.

“I don’t think taxpayers should be paying to provide condoms to college students,” he said.

The trustee also is concerned about the district’s liability. If one of the prophylactics fails, the district could be sued, he said.

“I don’t personally believe that just using condoms can give you entirely safe sex,” Cole said.

Educating students about abstinence, he said, is the best answer.

But Ron Halleran, professor of health education at Moorpark College, said it would be wrong only to advocate abstinence. Many students are sexually active, he said, and they need to be able to obtain protection.

“I would prefer that people abstain,” Halleran said. “But I don’t think the alternative should be death. You can’t teach morality . . . but you can teach people to protect themselves from contracting the disease.”

And one of the best ways to remind people about acquired immune deficiency syndrome and the importance of using condoms, Halleran said, is to place machines in the restrooms on the campuses.

“The machines are not just there to sell condoms,” Halleran said. “They are there as a constant reminder that the consequences of sex can be deadly.”

He said the machines, which have been installed in the restrooms of many major universities in Southern California, also are convenient.

“This way people can go into the restrooms and purchase one out of the machines,” he said. “They don’t have to be humiliated by going to the student bookstore.”

Carmen Serrano, student body president of Oxnard College, said she will ask the board to allow the colleges to continue condom distribution.

“It’s a service that needs to be available for students on campus,” she said. “People need to come back into reality.”

Student government members at Ventura College say they are surveying students to see if they want condoms distributed on campus.

“We want to leave it up to the students,” said Mario Ortiz, president of the Associated Student Body. “It’s a touchy issue.”

Hirschberg said that the battle against AIDS is not going to be won by distributing condoms alone.

“We should have a strong educational program relating to AIDS,” he said.

“We are an educational institution--we should concentrate on educational issues. We do not have any greater responsibility to hand out condoms than a public library.”

Jacobs said, “If we provide condoms, it should be carefully managed, with no taxpayer money and with lots of educational information.”

Trustees Pete Tafoya and Gregory Kampf said they have not made a decision on the issue.

“I’m torn between both sides,” Tafoya said. “Although all the trustees want to maintain a focus on education, these are health issues that become a part of the process.”