Fearing unwanted pregnancy, over 73 percent more of Brandeis' female students have taken the prescription drug commonly referred to as the "morning-after pill" this academic year, according to the University health center.Last year, the health center recorded a total of only 54 students requesting what medical professionals call the "emergency contraception" or EC pill. This year, however, 51 students have already purchased the $20 pill.

Health Center Co-director Kathleen Mahoney was the first to spot this trend.

"I've noticed that each Monday when I come in and look at the log there seems to be more and more young women coming to the health center for the morning-after pill," Mahoney said.

According to Mahoney, when a student comes into the health center requesting the EC pill, she is usually asked, "What happened?"

"Girls keep on saying the condom broke," Mahoney said. "I am not completely convinced the condom broke each time. Either that's a lot of faulty condoms or people are not using condoms correctly or not using them at all."

This news comes at a time when condom availability is at unprecedented levels.

In anticipation of Valentine's Day weekend, Student Sexuality Information Services (SSIS) distributed condoms to the entire student body via campus mailboxes. Also, resident advisers (RA) led by Jonathan Sclarsic '03 received approximately 1,000 condoms from the Health Center, which were passed out among first-year halls in North and Massell Quads.

Mahoney said she noted that many of the students coming in for the pill were, in fact, first-years, despite attempts by Sclarsic and other RAs to make condoms available to first-year students in innovative ways that remove the stigma, pressure and difficulty of procuring protection elsewhere.

One such example can be found on the third floor of Cable Hall where RA Kendra Bauer '03 arranged condoms in the shape of heart, writing the lyrics from the 1992 song, "Let's Talk About Sex " in the heart's center:

"Let's talk about sex baby/Let's talk about you and me/Let's talk about all the good things and the bad things that may be/ Let's talk about sex," the sign reads.

"A lot of people have taken the condoms, and people seem to be responding well to it," Bauer said.

On the first floor of Scheffres, where Sclarsic is an RA, latex fills the once-empty condom dispenser mounted on the bathroom wall.

Like Mahoney, Sclarsic said he believes the rise in EC requests may be due to students not using condoms at all.

"Underclassmen probably have less education about using condoms," Sclarsic said. This is the second year that Sclarsic has made available condoms in freshmen halls. Last year, he worked with Triskelion to distribute condoms. This year, he coordinated with Mahoney and the health center to get condoms donated by the Massachusetts Department of Health, which allots universities throughout the state thousands of condoms each year.

With condoms so readily available, some are trying to understand why EC has grown in popularity. "My first reaction is that it's being much better publicized," SSIS Coordinator Julie Szymczak '03 said. "I would argue that it's very difficult to characterize the sexual behavior of the campus. We've had an increase in condom sales this semester. Does that mean we have a more sexually active campus or just that more people are finding out about SSIS and what we do?"

Though SSIS did advertise many of the heath center's services, it was the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA) that made the most concerted effort to spread the word about the availability of EC.

According to President Lillian Davidson '06, FMLA posted a flyer about EC in every stall on campus shortly before winter break.

Many female students were surprised to find out how many of their peers used EC so far this year.

"It's actually very shocking to me because most of the girls here are on the pill," said Jessica Herman '06, a resident of Massell Quad. "It concerns me because at our age girls should be smart enough to know what they're doing."

This month, already six pills have been dispensed from the health center -- two times the amount prescribed last February.