Trojans beat Lifestyle in UA survey

The results are in: A recent Undergraduate Assembly survey on condoms shows that, when it comes to that special moment, Penn students reach for "America's Most Trusted Condom."

The findings of the survey, released Sunday night, reveal that Trojan-brand condoms - and not the Lifestyle condoms that the University freely distributes - are Penn students' protection of choice.

UA officials also announced upcoming plans to work with the Office of Health Education and Facilitating Learning About Sexual Health in an effort to accommodate the general student body's preferences.

The UA administered the survey last semester in order to determine whether students are satisfied with Penn's choice of Lifestyle condoms.

Of the about 1100 students surveyed, 77 percent said they were sexually active, and 75 percent of males said they had used the Lifestyle condoms.

But 39 percent of males said they experienced problems with the Lifestyle condoms. At the meeting, UA members cited breakage and discomfort among reasons for students' dissatisfaction with those condoms.

When asked which brand of condoms they preferred, over 70 percent of students said they preferred Trojan. Next came Durex brand condoms, followed by Lifestyles.

"It's up to the [Office of Health Education] now," College freshman and UA member Benjamin Laitman said.

The UA also discussed projects they had worked on last semester, including the buses to and from the airport over Thanksgiving and winter breaks that provided transportation for 1,173 people.

Also on the agenda for this semester:

n Mobile Campus: A cell phone technology that would allow student organizations to text-message updates to students. A proposal regarding the technology was passed in October

n Worker's Rights: The UA hopes to work further with student groups on campus - like Penn's chapter of the NAACP and the Student Labor Action Project - to advocate for and improve the rights of the University's AlliedBarton security guards

n Sustainability Project: The UA is working with the University Facilities Committee and University Council Steering Committee to persuade the University to commit to a comprehensive plan that addresses both short- and long-term environmental issues such as recycling, energy conservation and environment-friendly purchasing.

n The UA hopes to send out a survey by Feb. 1 to gauge student opinion about campus laundry services and whether students feel they are in need of improvement.

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