Brandeis Pro-Choice will celebrate the opening of a Health and Wellness vending machine today in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium. The machine is located in the SCC TV Lounge next to the ATM and provides all-day access to Plan B One-Step emergency contraception as well as other wellness products, according to the event description. 

The club began the process of getting the machine in fall 2017 when they presented a letter of support to the University Services department to obtain approval, according to a Facebook Messenger correspondence with Susannah Miller ’19 , president of Brandeis Pro-Choice. Afterwards, the club secured grant funding from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and began installing a machine based on a model to accommodate Plan B and wellness products. She noted the challenge to find a willing pharmaceutical distributor to collaborate “without a pharmacy license,” Miller explained. Nevertheless, the club ensured the sustainability of the vending machine by orchestrating a long-term partnership with vendors that will be a good fit, Miller wrote. In addition, they are working with the University Services department to make sure a paid university employee is accountable for “oversee[ing] and manag[ing]” the machine, Miller said, and the department will now be responsible for funding the machine’s operations. 

Accounting for the long-term impacts of sexual health, Miller emphasized that it is “imperative” that students, especially survivors of sexual assault,  have timely access to Plan B because they deserve the “agency over their sexual healthcare.” Miller said she hopes that the resource will benefit current Brandeis students in the long-run, as well as students of future generations. 

—Editor’s Note: Emily Blumenthal is a News editor for the Justice and a member of Brandeis Pro-Choice. She did not assist in editing or reporting for this article.