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CondomAm

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TCNJ Condom Delivery Service 

 

 

EWING ­­— When sign-toting evangelicals staked out The College of New Jersey’s quad this fall, preaching the evils of premarital sex, sophomore Kyle McCabe and his friends donned Batman suits and staged a counterprotest.

The story caused a minor stir on the internet and turned McCabe into something of a campus celebrity.

 

Now the 19-year-old McCabe has made national news as the brainchild behind CondAm, a condom delivery service for TCNJ students.

 

Students can order condoms online, by phone or via text 24 hours a day. During “express hours” — 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays — McCabe promises to deliver in five minutes or less.

 

“When I get a delivery, I’ll drop whatever I’m doing,” McCabe said. “I sprint.”

 

CondAm, short for Condom Ambulance, caught on slowly when he started it in October, he said. McCabe saw a trickle of customers during his first month as TCNJ’s unofficial condom delivery man.

 

He saw a bump in business after he hung up flyers, during homecoming and after CondAm was profiled in the campus newspaper two months ago.

 

Then, last week, ABC News featured an article about CondAm on its website. Within days the story was picked up by The Huffington Post, Playboy’s satellite radio station and WGN-TV Chicago.

 

McCabe soon realized that his idea had the potential to spread beyond TCNJ.

 

“There’s nothing like this out there,” McCabe said.

 

Looking to expand

 

Amid the rush of national media attention, McCabe applied for incorporation, which he said will protect him from liability and perhaps allow him to expand to Rutgers University and other nearby colleges.

 

Not bad for an idea born of a half-joking conversation with friends, he said.

 

“My friends and I were sitting around and talking about stuff — sex, what else? — and the all-too-common occurrence of not being prepared came up,” McCabe said. “I was saying it would be awesome if someone just showed up at those moments, gave you condoms and disappeared into the night.”

 

While condom delivery is new to TCNJ, it is not an original idea. A 1987 Doonesbury comic lampooned the concept through a series of strips devoted to intrepid delivery man Dr. Whoopee. A few years later, the Los Angeles Times profiled a real-life condom delivery person who called himself “Cupid.” And St. Mary’s College of Maryland has the Condom Fairy, CondAm by a different name.

 

Nonetheless, many students say the service is needed at TCNJ.

 

“It definitely fills a need on campus,” said sophomore Gerard Tyrrell of New Residence Hall. “It’s a creative service for a student to come up with.”

 

Across campus in first-year dormitory Wolfe Hall, freshman Liz Rozansky agreed.

 

“It’s a good idea,” Rozansky said. After a pause, she added, “I don’t know if people actually use it.”

 

McCabe said he has been filling about 10 orders a night, and was looking forward to seeing whether business would improve over the first weekend since CondAm received national media attention.

 

About 60 percent of his orders come from men, 40 percent from women, he said. He estimates a similar breakdown for upperclassmen versus. underclassmen, with juniors and seniors ordering more often.

 

“It’s a lot of freshmen, but more upperclassmen,” McCabe said. “Usually the worst days are the best days for business. I go out a lot when it rains.”

 

Speedy service

McCabe said he wears running shoes during express hours. When he receives an order, he dashes from his dorm with condoms and a release form he asks customers to sign.

 

In a test last week of his five-minute guarantee, McCabe made it from the third floor of his centrally located dormitory, New Residence Hall, to the 10th floor of Wolfe Hall in two minutes flat. The trip would take about eight minutes at a walk.

 

Once he arrives at a dorm, McCabe either delivers right to the door or asks students to come downstairs to meet him. Visitors must be signed in to residence halls from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends, so McCabe conducts his condom sales in the lobby during those hours.

 

According to his online order form at condam.net, a single Trojan condom would cost $3, or $15 for a pack of 10 — somewhat more expensive than common pharmacy or convenience-store prices.

 

McCabe said he hopes TCNJ will eventually give him permission to bypass the sign-in process when he is on official business.

 

It will be easy to tell when he is working, he said, as he recently purchased a helmet he plans to wear during deliveries.

 

“It has CondAm logo stickers on it and a blue police light on top. It’s sort of a novelty,” McCabe said. “I want to have that idea that we take ourselves too seriously. It’s kind of comedic.”

 

Blending humor and concern for issues is how McCabe operates.

 

Just as when he dressed up as Batman to protest the preachers’ fiery rhetoric, he is using a seemingly silly idea, CondAm, to fight something he sees as a real problem: young people having unprotected sex.

 

“A lot of times, people will just go through with it if they don’t have a condom,” McCabe said. “This way, they don’t have to.”

 

McCabe said he hopes to use CondAm to advocate sexual health during the evangelicals’ next visit.

 

“I want to have a CondAm booth outside the student center and donate money to Planned Parenthood for every hour they’re there,” McCabe said.

 

What do you think?  Is this an invaluable asset to have on every college campus in the world, or should TCNJ put a stop to it?

Comments (Show all 47)

wikiuser0330 said

at 9:01 am on May 8, 2013

Being a college student, it's hard to make money without working. I think this kid came up with a really good idea. It's clever that he even has a "condom ambulence" to drop them off. Its funny to me that he'll literally stop whatever he's doing to make an express delivery. I think more college, not just in NJ, but country wide should start doing this. Not only does it prevent STDs, but it prevents accidently college mistakes of potentially having an unwanted child.

wikiuser0365 said

at 9:01 am on May 8, 2013

i thinks that it is a pretty good idea, but just cause he delivers it to you and you dont have to go out when youre in the middle of something. also its a good way to practice safe sex. its good that this kid is making money just for delievering condoms, and helping other people out.

wikiuser0320 said

at 9:02 am on May 8, 2013

McCabe came up with a unique idea that no ones really thought about before, not only is it helping people pratice safe sex but its helping education. Other colleges should pratice this to.

wikiuser0389 said

at 9:02 am on May 8, 2013

I think this is a innovative idea. It's a good way to make money and provide service for the students. I hope to see his business expand to other colleges in the future

wikiuser0360 said

at 9:03 am on May 8, 2013

I think this is a very smart idea. In some cases when people don't have condoms they will just have unprotected sex. This could save some unwanted pregnancies and STD's. He is helping more people have safe. sex. I think this could help many people. Some people are lazy and they are not going to go out of there room to purchase condoms when in the moment. McCabe came up with a really creative way to help preach safe sex. They should start having this in more places. i do not think they should put a stop to it. it could be very useful.

wikiuser0373 said

at 9:03 am on May 8, 2013

I feel like this "service" is a positive influence on college students to have safe sex. Sex happens and I think the campus accepting that first is a big part of students being protected. Sex happens and shouldn't be ignored, so why not have the opportunity for safe sex available whenever you may need it? It's a genius idea.

wikiuser0331 said

at 9:03 am on May 8, 2013

I think that this is a very good idea. Teenagers and young adults nowadays are having unprotected sex without realizing that there can be serious consequences to doing that. This idea can help prevent those consequences from happening. Even though i personally think that its best to save sex for marriage, its a good idea due to the fact that it prevents STD's and pregnancy. He's helping people and protecting them, which is not a bad thing at all.

wikiuser0318 said

at 9:04 am on May 8, 2013

Having someone who can help you be prepared when you need it is very useful. It can and will prevent a higher risk of pregnancy and STD's. A lot of times students don't have the time, or money to go and buy condoms and having a delivery is very important for college students. This oppurtunity is such a good thing and i think will catch on when more and more people start to here about it. College is a time where many students dont think about their actions and they need to take advantage of this.

wikiuser0383 said

at 9:11 am on May 8, 2013

I think this is a great thing to have on any campus. It's also slightly comical. I think it is a very nice thing McCabe is doing. He is helping a lot of people in the long run fight against pregnancy and std's. I think every college campus should have a service like this. The fact that it only takes 5 minutes too is pretty crazy. I think this is a great service he provides to tcnj.

wikiuser0316 said

at 9:18 am on May 8, 2013

I think that this is the best idea a college could have. I think that all colleges should do this. The reason for this is because in all honesty, college kids will be having sex and it's Better to be safe than sorry. I don't see a real reason that the college should shit down CondAm. He's not hurting anyone with what he's doing. And he's making money on top of that and could be used in part of his tuition. But other than that, he's helping prevent unplanned pregnancies. So with that being said, keep CondAm alive !!

wikiuser0391 said

at 9:26 am on May 8, 2013

Overall, I believe that this service is innovative and promotes safe sex. Not only does it provide kiuds with a service in which they have the ability to get a condom, it also provides those too embarrassed to go to a convenient store to have the assurance of being more anonymous about it. While this practice is quite valuable at TCNJ, I am uncertain whether every college would take advantage of a service like such. While I believe that it would be an assest to have this at every college, many have different beliefs, as well as having colleges, such as a catholic college, that would be/ is very strict about a complete abstinence policy.

wikiuser0321 said

at 10:00 am on May 8, 2013

I think the service can promote safe sex and useful for college students. CondAms could prevent the transmission of STDs and pregnancy and other serious consequences from happening. Although he's doing nothing wrong at all and he's just trying to help everyone, TCNJ is condoning sex before marriage, and i think abstinence should be promoted first. Over all, in a time where students don't always think through their actions, the condom delivery service is a good thing to have on a college campus.

wikiuser0385 said

at 4:37 pm on May 8, 2013

TCNJ should definitely keep this practice, and other campuses should pick it up, too. I'm not sure if this is extremely helpful when you are unprepared and something is about to happen, but I think it's a good idea for shy-er people. Not everyone wants to go out and buy them because they might be embarrassed or just uncomfortable about it, but McCabe is only one person and he is the only one who really knows.. it's a really good idea. As someone said above, Catholic colleges may not approve of this, but I guarantee it's going on so they should definitely start a program like CondAm. Better safe than sorry!

wikiuser0361 said

at 11:03 pm on May 8, 2013

I really got a kick out of this article, my sister goes to tcnj and she says she's talked to the kid before. she said tons of people use him. i think it would be funny to order and time him at random hours. all jokes aside i think more people will refrain from having unprotected sex if they know its just a five minute wait. it is less embarrassing because it IS a student... maybe he should start delivering variety packs. more schools should definitely adopt this. it cant hurt. college students will have sex with or withh out a condom, having delivery personnel CANT HURT!

wikiuser0390 said

at 7:59 am on May 9, 2013

I do not think tcnj should put a stop to condamam, I think this will help increase the amount of safe sex with college students. Whether the student doesn't have a method of transportation to get condoms, or they simply feel uncomfortable buying them at a local store,comndamam assures all students can have condoms in a quick call. I think that this should be looked into having at numerous colleges in the world.

wikiuser0337 said

at 8:52 am on May 9, 2013

I actually like this idea even though I feel like many people would vote against it. A lot of people complain and say that if you're a college student you shouldn't be having sex because you are too young,but at least this advocates practicing safe sex. If implemented at other colleges,this may stop the spread of STD's and pregnancies a bit. I really enjoyed reading this article I thought it was a clever idea and the student seems very funny. I'm sure he obviously keeps all his customers anonymous though,people shouldn't have to worry that everyone on campus knows who they are with!

wikiuser0351 said

at 12:31 pm on May 9, 2013

CondomAm is a great idea. Initially it seems ridiculous but then you realize the effects it can truly have. Adults may not want their kids having sex because of some unfortunate consequences but when kids are at college, they have no control over what their kids are doing. TCNJ should definitely keep this program because it allows kids to have sex and stay protected from STDs and prevent pregnancy. This allows parents to worry less and keeps kids safe. Yes, in a way it does promote sex but kids are going to do it anyway so at least they can protected. This is a great idea and should be offered at many other schools.

wikiuser0382 said

at 12:46 pm on May 9, 2013

Woah! This guy is a true entrepreneur... and is comically reminiscent of Tom Cruise's character in "Risky Business"! In all honesty, McCabe should be rewarded for his ingenious, innovative business venture while supporting safe sex simultaneously. One could imagine the countless times that two (or more) individuals have engaged in sexual practices without protection on any college campus simply because she/he/they had been without a condom (or more); with this convenient service, "gregarious" customers can comfortably know that protection is always an option. As McCabe's business decreases the chances of passing STD's while promoting general student body satisfaction, TCNJ should not only allow the business to operate on campus without condition, but also provide adequate privileges to the business, such as bypassing the sign-in process when making speedy deliveries.

wikiuser0333 said

at 2:04 pm on May 9, 2013

Listen, the view on this that I have is like my view on gay marriage. If you don't like gay marriage, don't get one. So the same goes for this, if you don't like this idea of a delivery service, don't use it. People are going to have sex whether these condoms are delivered or not, so pick your pill to swallow, deal with the fact that kids are having sex, or deal with the fact that kids are having sex with protection. Either way, both are happening. And even if you think it promotes sex, hello, look at the media, look at this world, sex is everyone. Once it's not such a dirty word, we will probably stop having so many unplanned pregnancies and STDs popping up, because people will be more willing to use protection and think before they have that one night stand. So deliver and pass out and give away as many condoms as you want, whatever floats your boat.

wikiuser0349 said

at 5:22 pm on May 9, 2013

What student do on their own time is of no concern to the university, and I think TCNJ should applaud this student for being productive with that time. Despite what the evangelicalists would like to believe is a standard to live by, college kids are prone to be sexually active. If a fellow student would like to help his peers stay protected and make smart decisions, TCNJ should be more than happy to let him continue. Is it an invaluable service? Probably not. But it can certainly do no more harm than college students can do to themselves by having unprotected sex.

wikiuser0332 said

at 8:07 pm on May 9, 2013

I think it is a very good idea. I don't see any reason for TCNJ to put a stop to it. They should actually congratulate this kid for helping people practice safe sex. There may be a point where some kid is about to have sex and is too lazy to go out of his way to buy condoms. This business would be convenient for him plus it would lessen the chance of pregnancy and STD's. It's better than having the kid risk getting someone pregnant or getting/spreading an STD. Some people might not like this idea because it may promote sex and some people don't want that for religious, moral, or whatever reasons. However sex is a part of the everyday world and you have to deal with it. If certain people don't approve, they don't have to take use of this service. Also it's promoting safe sex which is at least a step better to those people who don't want people promoting sex.

wikiuser0356 said

at 8:15 pm on May 9, 2013

Personally, i think this is a great idea. It’s obvious people have a lot of sex at college, and this service helps to do this safely. With this system in effect the school has to have much lower pregnancy and STD rates. This also eliminates the “embarrassing” factor of buying condoms in a store. It’s a private, one to one business that keeps everything confidential. I think every college should have this.

wikiuser0398 said

at 8:30 pm on May 9, 2013

I think that this is a great idea. It seems like nobody really has a problem with it so I don't see why TCNJ would stop it. Its a know fact that in college people are going to have sex, so why not try and make sure it is safe sex. I think that most people probably have their own condoms but when in a tough situation this is a good solution. I am not sure if every college needs it but I would definitely say that if it was offered at my college I would think about using it. If this were happening at a school in the south or somewhere traditionally more conservative this may become a much bigger deal. I also think it would be different if he were making a large profit off of the service, but his prices are reasonable for including delivery.

wikiuser0378 said

at 9:08 pm on May 9, 2013

I have mixed feelings on this subject. I think it is a great idea that this guy had to supply students with condoms to allow them to try to protect themselves from STD's. However, on the other hand, I believe that with this knowledge of having the ability to get condoms any time of the day students will misuse it. For instance, students at TCNJ might have sex more often than before just because they know they can be more protected, but it is not good because sometimes sexual abuse or rape could result. With students having sex more often, the probability of rape and sexual abuse will go up, and that is the downside to this whole idea.

wikiuser0394 said

at 10:35 pm on May 9, 2013

This kid has capitalized on a great idea since the demand will never run out unless his business is outlawed by the college. In a basic sense, as long as the coeds are at or above the age of consent, then the sex they are having is completely legal and allowed by the college since it probably doesn't govern things like that. McCabe is simply trying to help prevent coeds from having unprotected sex. I think he should be allowed to continue but it shouldn't be imposed on other colleges; something like this should take its own course with other schools. It's obvious people have sex and McCabe makes it safer. Plus, if they stop him, then they are advocating unprotected sex.

wikiuser0396 said

at 11:03 pm on May 9, 2013

This is a great idea because he is able cater to those who need a condom at unexpected moments. Nt only is he able to make a little bit of money off of it, but more importantly he is helping prevent the transmission of diseases or the possibility of becoming pregnant. TCNJ should not stop this service as I believe other schools should start implementing this service as I only see positive outcomes from this service. No one is forced to use his CondAm service, but it's there for those who need it in an instant.

wikiuser0405 said

at 8:01 am on May 10, 2013

I think that this is a good idea because it will make it easier to have protected sex. I dont think TCNJ should stop it because it isnt doing any harm to the students it is helping them. Other colleges would benifit from it as well because unprotected sex could happen at any college which could lead to girls getting pregnant and having to drop out. With this being on campus it would give the kids the option to have protected sex which is the better thing to do.

wikiuser0350 said

at 8:43 am on May 10, 2013

I think that it is a good idea because it helps prevent unprotected sex. Not everyone is always prepared when the moment is roght, especially if they are at a party, so this system should beput into every college nationwide. If someone is wiling to drop everyone to deliver condoms within 5 minutes, the board of colleges should admit the system rather than having their students go unprotected and half the campus could potentially be pregnant or have an STD.

wikiuser0366 said

at 9:39 am on May 10, 2013

I have nothing against what he is doing at TCNJ but i can also see how people would find this pretty offensive like just think everytime he goes out or go to a dorm someone has to come out and answer and everybody around will know that their buying condoms and that might not go as well as planned especially because buying condoms makes alot of people really embarrassed and to have people you know seeing you buy condoms could potentially be more embarrassing. But as for the idea of making sex safer he is doing a good thing

wikiuser0339 said

at 10:32 am on May 10, 2013

this is a really good idea because many people have unsafe sex because there just too embarrassed to go in a store to purchase condoms. this will help prevent many things, more students will participate in safe sex now. i dont see why TCNJ would ever stop this they would basically be stopping something that actually is good and working.

wikiuser0371 said

at 3:41 pm on May 10, 2013

I think this is a very good idea because it will decrease the amount of people having unprotected sex. People want what is most convenient for them but if they can just call someone up to have a condom delivered, they probably will instead of going into a pharmacy to buy them. This should be spread to many other colleges around the country to promote safe sex. TCNJ should not stop this delivery system because it promotes safe sex and that's what people should practice.

wikiuser0367 said

at 4:45 pm on May 10, 2013

I think this is a good idea because it is helping the students of TCNJ practice safe sex. they are going to have sex either way and you can't put a stop to it, so it is better for them to have a resource to help them stay protected. Other colleges should offer this too because it will help protect students all over the country.

wikiuser0343 said

at 5:47 pm on May 10, 2013

I think it's a pretty good idea to have, but i wouldn't say its a necessity for every college campus. If he actually gets to every place in 5 minutes, i would say every college should start to consider having a service like this or a small vending machine with condoms in it in every dorm or in several spots on campus that are filled regularly.

wikiuser0352 said

at 6:39 pm on May 11, 2013

In my opinion this is a great idea. If people are about to do the business but don't have the most valuable piece of rubber on earth, they can get it from this dude. Its a good model for safe sex and the service should be exercised on every college campus. Its really creative and keeps many college students safe.

One downside is if my room mate was selling condoms every 3 minutes id get a little heated.

wikiuser0381 said

at 7:15 pm on May 11, 2013

I think it would be a great idea for most college campus' to have so college students have the choice to be smart about the decision to have sex or not. College students are going to have sex regardless so it would be great so have a way to stay protected against STD's and pregnancy.

wikiuser0380 said

at 9:03 pm on May 16, 2013

It is a great idea, because it lessen the chance of std being spread around.

wikiuser0401 said

at 9:33 am on May 29, 2013

i think that this kid actually has a really good ideal. You would think its a stupid ideal but when you need a condom you need a condom. and why not send a quick text and get one in five minutes instead of taking your chances getting STDS or someone pregnant.

wikiuser0335 said

at 8:24 am on Jun 5, 2013

i think this is a great idea, iit practices safe sex and also and people be shy or embarrassed to go out in public to get something so personal. also makes it so much easier to get and to be safe agenst HIV and STDS

wikiuser0344 said

at 9:43 am on Jun 6, 2013

The radical religious groups may oppose condoms as they did medicine, science, philosophy, and technology, but the fact remains that condoms are necessary in modern day society, because new of the new sexually transmitted viruses that exist. If that evangelical group thinks groups are bad, they've apparently never came across an STD.

wikiuser0344 said

at 9:45 am on Jun 6, 2013

The radical religious groups may oppose condoms as they did medicine, science, philosophy, and technology, but the fact remains that condoms are necessary in modern day society, because of the new sexually transmitted viruses that exist. If that evangelical group thinks condoms are bad, they've apparently never came across an STD.

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