The University of California, Davis, is now offering students a vending machine on campus that sells the morning-after pill.
The machine was installed at the campus Activities and Recreation Center during spring break and also includes items such as condoms, feminine hygiene products, lubricant and over-the-counter allergy pills, and pain relievers, the Sacramento Bee reported.
The vending machine is open 18 hours a day and is only inaccessible when the building closes between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., KCRA reports.
“I think these are just basic resources that students need on campuses,” said UC Davis senior Parteek Singh, 21, who worked with the university for two years to get the vending machine installed. “Most college students are sexually active … and these resources should be provided to them.”
KTXL reports that UC Davis is one of four campuses in the nation to provide this kind of access to emergency contraception.
Plan B became available to women without a prescription starting in 2013 under the Obama administration.
Singh pitched the idea to the administration after a friend had trouble obtaining the morning-after pill from the town’s 24-hour pharmacy in a timely manner.
“They were all out of emergency contraceptives and they weren’t going to get anything until Monday,” Singh said.
The university administration originally rejected his proposal and instead offered to sell the emergency contraception at the bookstore.
Singh continued to argue his case before the administration and also suggested that the school include other health and wellness items, such as tampons and allergy pills. As a result, administrators accepted his proposal and agreed to install the vending machine.
Singh says he is speaking with other universities that want to install similar vending machines.
“I feel like every college should have this,” Singh said.
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