The Oxford Student Government Association (OxSGA) expects health-access vending machines to roll out on Emory University’s Oxford and Atlanta campuses at the beginning of the new year. Student Government Association (SGA) co-Vice Presidents of Well-being Asmita Lehther (24Ox, 26C) and Jean Qian (23Ox, 25C) and SGA Elections Chair Elizabeth Brubaker (24Ox, 26C) proposed the initiative, which Lehther says will make Plan B, condoms, Tylenol and other health products accessible on both campuses.
The proposers of the initiative said the machine will give students privacy and the opportunity to access reproductive health products for free. According to Lehther, this vending machine is a “huge deal,” as it is the first of its kind in Georgia.
The health-access vending machine idea was born after Brubaker, Lehther and Qian surveyed 389 Emory students in fall 2023 about the accessibility of health products on campus. While students on both the Atlanta and Oxford campuses reported financial barriers to health care, students at Oxford were more likely to report physical obstacles, as the closest pharmacy to Oxford is almost two miles away. According to Lehther, the vending machines are geared toward anything that may be a financial burden to students.
“We also looked at different price points, but then because of the funding that we were able to receive from SGA and [the Women of Emory Impact Circle], we were able to subsidize that cost,” Lehther said.
Brubaker added that funding from SGA, Graduate SGA and OxSGA, as well as a grant from the Women of Emory Impact Circle, will cover the cost of the vending machines for at least two years.
The Atlanta vending machine will be located in the Alumni Memorial University Center, and the Oxford vending machine will be in the lobby of the Jolley Residential Center. SGA and OxSGA chose these two locations after a thorough discussion on which location would be best for accessibility and privacy, according to Lehther.
“Our goal is to be discreet but also accessible,” Lehther said. “You know what products you’re getting. [The packaging is] going to have some medical liability information about the product but still in a way that you don’t want everyone knowing what you’re getting.”
Lehther noted that this project has been slow to implement because of various legal and medical roadblocks, including policy changes in the state of Georgia. She added that Emory’s legal counsel performed a policy evaluation on the “health access machine” as a precaution to ensure that the project did not conflict with existing legislation. The group also collaborated with Planned Parenthood Generation Action and Emory’s Sexual Assault Peer Advocates to ensure a thorough review of the plan.
The group emphasized the importance of access to reproductive health care, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion in the landmark 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision.
“Reproductive health care and health accessibility is really important, especially at a campus like Oxford,” Lehther said. “There’s an expressed need for it, and especially in context of the Dobbs decision, [we want to make] sure that any and every form of products that could be available to students are.”
OxSGA Environmental Sustainability Chair Muram Dafalla (25Ox) expressed agreement with Oxford’s need for increased availability of health care products.
“On Oxford’s campus, we know that sometimes it's not as easy to get off campus, especially if you don’t have a car. … [The vending machines are] going to be in a 24 hour space … any day, any time, any student can access it,” Dafalla said.
Dafalla explained that the health access machines will be easily accessible with a student’s EmoryCard.
“It would be free to students who just scan their EmoryCard,” Dafalla said. “You use it, and then [the machine] would just give you a Plan B or a Tylenol or whatever you want from it for free.”
