Name: (From left to right) Brandon Orozco and Nick Polanco
Age: 21, 21
Year: Senior, Senior
Hometown: Pembroke Pines, FL; Miramar, FL
Major: Criminology; Biology
Her Campus (HC): You both attended the #PerfectlyImperfect seminar on October 4, which was an open discussion about Plan B One-Step emergency contraception hosted by Girl Code’s Carly and Nessa. During the seminar, common misunderstandings and misconceptions about emergency contraception were addressed and proved either true or false, followed by an open Q&A at the end. How did you guys end up attending the seminar?
Brandon Orozco (BO): It’s a funny story actually, we were at Stroz studying for about three hours and we decided to take a little break. Talk a little bit, go on our phones, and Polanco got on Facebook and saw a post on Free Food at FSU that basically said there was free pizza in one of the rooms in the union. That’s it. So he asked me, “Do you want free pizza?” And I said of course, it’s free. So we made our way over to the building.
Nick Polanco (NP): … We walk in and forty heads turn around all at once, all girls. And I’m like, oh my god, what did I just walk into?
BC: So we finally sit down and we’re watching the presentation and the first thing they start talking about is Plan B and contraceptives and sex. We gave each other a look like, I think we’re in the wrong room, but we decided to stay and listen to what they had to say. It was very interesting.
NP: We got hooked immediately.
HC: How much did you know about emergency contraceptives before attending the #PerfectlyImperfect seminar? What did you learn?
NP: For me, I was very unaware. All of the misconceptions they mentioned at the presentation were, pretty much, everything that I thought Plan B was. For example, I thought that you had to take it immediately after or else it wouldn’t work and then I learned that you could take it up to 72 hours after. There were a lot of things I learned, actually. I realized I knew very little about Plan B.
BC: I walked in knowing a little bit, but the only question I had was if the pill ruined the inside of a woman or if it caused her damage, and they cleared it up saying it wasn’t bad for you, which is good to know.
HC: Why do you think it’s good for guys to know about emergency contraceptives?
NP: I think it’s important for everyone to know, guys and girls in general. Because if I have concerns, or if, for example, the woman might not know a lot about Plan B, just for any reason, I would be able to have that information in my head too. So it’s actually just safer all around.
BO: I think its equally important for both men and women to know because accidents do happen, so it’s good to have that information in case you do have to go down that route.
HC: Why do you think there’s a stigma attached to guys learning about emergency contraception?
BO: I think there’s a stigma because a lot of the concern always goes to the woman and that’s a lot of weight for them. And I guess it can get kind of awkward talking about it, too.
NP: I think people think that guys probably wouldn’t care as much or guys probably don’t want to know, but I don’t think that’s true at all. I feel like most guys would want to know the benefits and want to know the options that women have if they’re ever put in that position.
HC: How do you feel about generalizations that women tend to make about guys and their willingness to be involved and take equal responsibility for safe sex?
BO: I can’t speak for anybody else, but I think that it’s important for women to understand that guys are just as committed and equally responsible in case something were to happen—they’re both in it together and you have to figure it out. There shouldn’t be just one person going out of their way, it should be a collective effort.
NP: Just piggy backing on that, there is a huge generalization that guys are irresponsible or just wouldn’t care or maybe they’ll just dump the responsibility on the woman, so women would rather take it by themselves. But I feel like, at least for Brandon and I, it’s not like that. I feel like most guys would actually rather take the time to go with them to buy the Plan B or help them or give them advice with whatever they’d like to know. I think women believe that men don’t really care about these things because of how society is, like, “Ugh, guys don’t care about anything,” but I don’t think that’s how it is nowadays. I think society is changing.
HC: Any concluding words that you guys have on the topic you’d like to add?
BO: I think this program is great, but I think you guys should get more men involved. Just like you were saying, there is a stigma. Just to spread the word, it’s good to know.
NC: It might take some time for everyone to be as involved as girls are, but I feel like with time, a lot of people would be interested.