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College students serve themselves the Morning After Pill

February 8, 2012 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

If you've read the recent stories about kiosks that dispense marijuanaand porn or collect taxes from German prostitutes, it should come as no surprise that one college campus is selling the morning-after pill via a vending kiosk. (Technically, it's not a kiosk, but it's an unusual idea even without a touchscreen.)

Still, it's a little shocking.

A machine on the campus of Shippensburg University, a public school about 40 miles southwest of Harrisburg, Penn., dispenses the pill for $25 each.

Although the machine has been in place for the past two years, it's received a lot of attention lately, including a jab from Jay Leno on last night's Tonight Show.

"This is nothing new," Peter Gigliotti, spokesman for Shippensburg University, told the LA Times. "I have no idea why it's getting the reaction it's getting now."

It's understandable that many young women would rather buy the pill from a machine than endure an embarrassing doctor's visit, but wouldn't they be just as embarrassed if someone saw them using the machine? Why else would a student be accessing it, unless it sold other products? Skittles, anyone?

Turns out that it does sell other products. Not Skittles, but condoms and pregnancy tests. The machine is in a private room at the college's student clinic and is only accessible to students, all of whom are 17 or older, the age at which the pill is available without a prescription.

That's a little better, but people who see a student visit the room will probably assume the worst, so if the point is confidentiality, it may not be the best option. On the other hand, the ease of access could appeal to a scared or nervous student.

Apparently, students on the Pennsylvania campus aren't too worried about being spotted by their peers, considering the school installed the machine only after the student government found that 85 percent of the campus supported the effort.

My guess is that the other 15 percent may not be fans of self-service -- or perhaps may not understand the irony.

What is the weirdest product you've seen a kiosk dispense? Leave your comments below.

About Cherryh Cansler

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Cherryh Cansler is VP of Events for Networld Media Group and publisher of FastCasual.com. She has been covering the restaurant industry since 2012. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine, among many others.

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