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A new vending machine that allows ������ϲ����� students to discreetly and quickly access emergency contraception was unveiled Monday. It’s the product of more than a year of work led by University Road Map interns and members of the Student Association.

Located in the basement of the Glenn G. Bartle Library at the end of a row of food and beverage vending machines, the emergency contraceptives are available 24/7 for $10.

A generic form of Plan B has been available on campus for purchase through the Decker Student Health Services Center during normal business hours, but students decided it would be more beneficial to increase access to emergency contraception on campus during weekends and extended hours during the week.

“When the Roe v. Wade decision was released, the Latin American Student Association got a bunch of student leaders to discuss what we could do to help students, so I proposed a Plan B fund because I want to do some direct action to really help people,” said Luca Cassidy, an economics and sociology major who serves as the Student Association’s vice president for student success. “Through this experience, I learned if you truly want to see some change on campus, to research, create a proposal, make it detailed, make it easy to understand, and do the work.”

As part of the project’s development, students gathered more than 300 petition signatures of support from people across campus. They also researched similar measures from other schools and conducted a survey that drew more than 1,400 responses in two weeks before presenting their proposal to the University administration.

“There are so many different players in every single thing that is done to accomplish something like this,” said Mia Raskin ’23, a School of Management graduate student and Road Map intern. “Honestly, it adds a level of gratitude for your time on this campus when you realize how many hands and brains it takes to make things happen.”

Proceeds from emergency contraceptives purchased through the vending machine will go toward re-supplying and maintenance.

According to Rochelle Rodney, co-executive director of the New York Birth Control Access Project, which assisted the ������ϲ����� students, more than 60 campuses across the U.S. are using vending machines to provide emergency contraception.

University President Harvey Stenger told students at Monday’s unveiling, “Hopefully, you won’t need it, but when you do, it’s going to be here for you.”