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Faced with pressure from an unofficial student group to provide free condoms and on-campus access to birth control, Fordham University officials have opened a “dialogue” with advocates while continuing to assert the Jesuit university’s Catholic identity, according to a recent article in The Fordham Observer.

Students for Sex and Gender Equality and Safety (SAGES) recently submitted a petition with 1,100 student signatures, which “is a compelling thing to continue a dialogue about,” said Keith Eldridge, dean of students at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus, according to the Observer.

“Part of what I see as continuing dialogue and conversation is they have these demands, okay so where is room for compromise, where is room for growth, where is room for action? Can we do exactly what they’re asking for?” he asked, despite clear Catholic teaching against premarital sex and all forms of artificial birth control.

But he also emphasized that Fordham is “a private institution run in the Jesuit Catholic tradition.”

“You don’t have to want to be Catholic to be here, you don’t have to be Catholic,” Eldridge reportedly said. “But we are going to uphold Catholic morals and traditions.”

The Cardinal Newman Society previously reported on the actions of SAGES, which in September handed out condoms at several student events despite the University’s policy prohibiting distribution of contraceptives. Then in November, SAGES submitted a petition to the administration that demanded “free and accessible condoms, on-campus access to birth control and STD testing, a free speech zone for students and the elimination of gendered guest policies in dorms.”

The Observer reports that the students were granted meetings on November 5 and 13 with Associate Vice President Christopher Rodgers, who also serves as dean of students at Fordham’s Rose Hill campus in The Bronx.

Eldridge also attended students’ late-November protest outside the College’s Lincoln Center campus. The Observer reported “about 50 people” in attendance but noted that “[s]tudents generally had mixed feelings about the protest.”

“Those who turned down direct statements did emphasize that all students understand that this University runs in the Catholic tradition before signing up to come here,” the Observer pointed out.

The students behind SAGES seem unconcerned with Fordham’s Catholic mission. “For Fordham to use that as a reason, [contraception] is not a Catholic value, seems like imposing a religious doctrine on somebody who doesn’t value that tradition,” said a student to the Observer. “It’s ludicrous.”

Another student and founding member of SAGES reportedly claimed that “the Catholic Church is just not with the times anymore. Students are having sex whether they like it or not.”

The SAGES founder argued that Fordham “has a responsibility to make sure [sex is] safe” – but the University has, thus far, upheld its responsibility to be faithful to Catholic teaching with regard to the students’ demands.

Reprinted with permission from The Cardinal Newman Society.