Feeling optimistic? You probably did when you grabbed a handful of condoms passing the VISIONS display yesterday on your way into Dewick or Carmichael. But the free condoms weren't just Tufts' way of encouraging a little Valentine's Day action - if you listened long enough, the people manning the table would have gladly explained why they were giving away contraceptives. And they would have offered to sell you a daisy.
VISIONS is a worldwide organization that works to help AIDS patients. The Tufts chapter tabled yesterday during lunch and dinner, selling daisies for a dollar and handing out condoms and information on STDs. The proceeds from the daisy sales will be donated to Community Servings, a Boston organization that cooks 650 meals a day for AIDS patients and their families. According to the VISIONS president, sophomore Alison Clarke, Community Servings buys 90 percent of its food, the rest coming from donations. To help the organization purchase its food, VISIONS decided to conduct the fundraiser in Community Servings' honor.
Every Wednesday, VISIONS members trek to the Community Servings' soup kitchen to lend a hand in preparing food. They also volunteer their time to events such as the annual AIDS walk. The students recently helped make phone calls to those who have previously participated in the AIDS, encouraging them to walk again.
For sophomore Abi Mancell, VISIONS' treasurer, helping others provides is the only reward she needs for her work. "It's very fulfilling," she said. "I know that they appreciate everything we do."
By the end of the lunch tabling shift in Dewick, the group had collected about $100. Clarke felt their efforts were paying off, and that the dinner shifts would boost sales. As she spoke, students walked up to the table to grab a few condoms and a piece of candy. "Buy a daisy for a dollar!" Her voice followed them, sometimes luring the students back to the table, sometimes not.
"We probably won't sell all the daisies," she said. But, she added, the group was working not only for the profit of Community Servings, but also for the education and prevention of disease.
Clarke became involved with VISIONS because of its safe sex message on campus, but also because of its work outside of Tufts.
"I think it's a really great organization. I like the community service aspect. We get to go off campus and do things in the community," she said. "I like how it's connected to VISIONS worldwide."
As a whole, Clarke was encouraged by students' responses to the condom giveaway. "I heard a couple of reactions that Valentine's Day is about love not sex, but those were really the only negative things," she said. "We weren't promoting sex on Valentine's Day, we were just promoting safe sex in general."
Many students didn't seem to have a problem grabbing a few condoms, Clarke said. To her, that's a good sign.
"It was a good thing that people aren't embarrassed about taking [condoms]. It's really good that it's not a stigma," she said, adding that VISIONS also offered female condoms, which "sparked a lot of interest because most people haven't seen them."
