Brandeis Pro-Choice will be installing a wellness-vending machine that will be stocked with free Plan B, as well as other products that will be available for purchase, in the second-floor gender neutral bathroom in the Shapiro Campus Center (SCC). The installation is expected to take place in three weeks.

Brandeis Pro-Choice received a $5,000 grant from Planned Parenthood’s national college program, Planned Parenthood Generation Action, in October of 2017. Susannah Miller ’19, the president of Brandeis Pro-Choice, applied for the grant and won against other college groups affiliated with Planned Parenthood.

The grant was to fund a vending machine with a year’s supply of Plan B. Plan B, or the morning-after pill, is an emergency contraceptive available at the health center from 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. on weekdays with a clinic visit. The pill is effective when taken within three days of unprotected sex.

The vending machine was originally set to be installed in the first floor of the SCC alongside the other food and drink vending machines. The organization has changed their installation plan slightly since then, however, and it will now be going in the second-floor gender neutral bathroom of the SCC. Miller cited privacy as an advantage of this decision, as the vending machine will be in a less public location. “I am very excited about [the location],” Miller said. “That means anybody with any gender identity and expression can access it and its actually more private because it’s a single stall bathroom with 24/7 access.”

The vending machine will be a small wall unit and will have a poster with resources for survivors of sexual assault. Miller plans to have it contain Plan B, as well as other health products such as ibuprofen, menstrual products and condoms, available to purchase with cash or credit card. The Plan B will be free until the initially purchased supply runs out. According to Miller, the free supply should last for about a year.

Earlier this semester, Brandeis Pro-Choice contacted the Student Union Senate to ask for further funding, but instead has decided to re-apply for the grant they received last year. “[The grant] would go partially into Plan B and it would also go into education events because that’s something we really wanted to do,” said Miller, “because I know people have … misconceptions about what Plan B is and how to use it.”

Miller is concerned that Brandeis Pro-Choice may not get the grant this year and is pursuing other options to fund the machine in the future. “I’m not sure we’ll get it just because we got it last year and they want to give other people a chance and tons of chapters are doing really cool things and need money too … But I think we have a chance,” said Miller.

Brandeis Pro-Choice is searching for a Brandeis administrative office, such as the Health Center, to fund the vending machine so the project is sustainable. Because the health center is not licensed as a pharmacy, however, it may not be possible. The Health Center can only administer Plan B to students on a clinic visit.

“Getting the machine installed was definitely one of our goals but our overall goal is like sustainability and to have [the machine] be a normal functioning part of campus,” said Miller.

Brandeis Pro-Choice is planning a ceremony to celebrate the installation of the vending machine in about three weeks. Miller hopes to use the ceremony to raise awareness of the machine. She also hopes to lead activities at the ceremony, such as a raffle where students would be encouraged to enter the bathroom and as a a result, learn the vending machine’s location.

“I hope [the vending machine is] going to bring … more resources for students to take care of their sexual health, more agency in taking care of their sexual health and more sex positivity,” said Miller.

Brandeis Pro-Choice was originally called Brandeis for NARAL (National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League) until 2016, and was established in 2015. Miller, who started at Brandeis Pro-Choice as a first-year, has been president of the student group since spring of 2016.