This past week I attended the grand opening of the Wellness Express. The Wellness Express is a wellness vending machine implemented by the University of California, Riverside’s club Planned Parenthood Generation Action. The club’s success with the creation of this vending machine has been noticed throughout campus and was even featured in our local newspaper The Highlander.
This is the first ever safe sex machine vending machine on campus, which is not only limited to condoms and contraceptives but also holds items for urinary tract infections and other health items.
(Courtesy of Wellness Medicine)
While in attendance for the grand opening, I noticed there was not only UCR students. There were several older people, representatives from the Well on campus, and even non-UCR students who were student representatives from Riverside County. The UCR Chapter was recognized by numerous officials and held a ribbon cutting ceremony as well.
Overall, this vending machine is a large accomplishment for UCR. This machine begins to break the stigma about sex, sexual health and begins to create an access point for college students. Many students face difficulties affording items like the ones available in the machine because of money or transportation issues. PPGA at UCR has decided to break down those barriers to make a change for students and their sexual health.
This is the type of change to be made on every campus and I’m thankful to see this happen on my own campus firsthand.