SHIC at Grinnell

10/27/2021

HEAD TO HANDSHAKE TO APPLY

12/08/2020

TLDR: SHIC is supposed to be running this year but we cannot because admin isn't allowing our team to get paid and, if we don't get paid, we can't run the org due to... "labor laws". We think admin is blocking our funding to shut us down.

Over the past few months SHIC peer educators have been working day-to-day to get SHIC up and running, but with certain administrators continuously ignoring our emails and making decisions without consulting us, it’s proven to be an uphill battle.
Before and at the start of the year, we contacted every relevant player in SGA and our school’s admin to check that we were ready to start operating. All responses were positive and encouraging so we went ahead and made all the necessary moves to get our educators ready for the school year. We held meetings, assigned projects to educators, prepared to hire new peer educators, contacted our supervisor to get added to payroll, and confirmed that our salaries were within the SGA budget. However, communication with our supervisor was limited despite constant and consistent efforts made to reach out, and the few replies we were able to secure (after several follow up emails) sent us in circles by repeatedly requesting the same documents or promising answers from varying sources sometime soon only to return still uninformed.

At this point in the year, our educators have not been paid for ANY the work we’ve done. We have only been told that while our payroll issue is worked on, Admin and Peer Educators were to stop any SHIC related work we’d started due to “certain labor laws”, attempts to set up meetings with our supervisor, and our advisor have been fruitless, and even SGA is struggling to get our school’s administrators to release our funding. Work is still being done to try and get the center re-opened but until then, no SHIC ☹

The manner of this shutdown is extremely upsetting and insulting to every student who has relied on SHIC to provide them with a space to safely and comfortably access s*xual health resources and information as well as the educators who enjoy this work and rely on its pay. We’ve felt extremely undervalued by our school’s administrators whose words and actions have repeatedly proven that they do not respect our space, the students who occupy it, or the work that goes into its upkeep. This should not be happening every year.

02/19/2020

Pleasure product update: President Kington is personally assessing the medical and PR liability of each of the s*x toys we've previously distributed. We will update with his conclusions when we receive them.

02/12/2020

SHIC is now allowed to provide emergency contraception again! Please come and pick some up (free of charge) if you or someone you know needs some! We are still in conversations about restoring pleasure products, but the conversations are positive and we should have an answer about them within the week ;)

01/29/2020

hi everyone! shic is reOPENed starting this afternoon for contraceptives and menstrual supplies! we are still in conversations with the administration about when we can start distributing pleasure products, emergency contraceptives, and hosting peer educator-led events (and we will not stop having these conversations until Grinnell students have the s*xual health resources they deserve!), but we are back in our space and we'd love for y'all to come visit

01/27/2020

Hi everyone, hopefully this article clarifies some questions y'all might have about our suspension. We worked hard with the author to give her as much information as we have about the situation. Thank you again for the outpouring of support. We will keep you posted as we further negotiate our reopening.

  By Zoe Fruchter fruchter@grinnell.edu This article will be followed by a transcript of The S&B’s conversation with Dean of Students Ben Newhouse on the topic of SHIC, coming later this week. On Friday, Jan 24, Student Affairs announced in an all-campus email that the

01/23/2020

Hi everyone. We are very sad to announce that SHIC has been closed indefinitely by the administration citing "medical liability" despite an inability to provide any specific medical risks for products such as condoms, menstrual products, s*xual pleasure toys like vi*****rs, life saving dysphoria management products like binders, and accessible emergency contraception at any time in any weather. They have removed us from the space without a timeline for reopening and have expressed to us that when we reopen, they will not allow us provide s*xual pleasure toys or Plan B, again citing medical liability without examples of medical danger. The decision to close SHIC was made by the "SHIC Advisory Board" in a series of meetings over break that SHIC Student Administrators were not informed of. The actions of the administration show a serious breach of trust, an application of s*xual morality (illustrated by SHIC's products being considered different from regular student organization "swag"), and a dissolution of self governmental values to the ultimate detriment of female students, LGBT students, students of color (not to mention students at the intersection of all of these identities), all of whom have found a home in SHIC. We are devastated and furious with this news and we hope the Grinnell student and alumni body can be supportive of us as we dispute the administration's decision.

We would love for those of you whose lives have been bettered by our center to share testimonials in the following survey. We would also love your contact information should SHIC lead a demonstration in protest of administration's decision if you're interested in attending. Thank you for your support in this coming fight.

https://forms.gle/eMJrK5weLJQQwBGK8

Anna Bell Hines and Zama Buthelezi (SHIC administrators)

12/02/2019

Hi guys a few updates:
1. We have a few new vi*****rs, di**os, and menstrual cups in the center.

2. Do you want to learn more about abortion rights in Iowa and across the country?
Come to the NARAL Pro-Choice America’s Reality of Roe Action Hour hosted by SHIC!
Where: HSSCN2110
When: Thursday, Dec 5
7:00-8:00 PM

3. Wondering how to stay s*xy when it’s cold as f**k outside?
Make some candles and learn about wax play with SHIC!
Where: Yonker 1st Lounge
When: Sunday, December 8th
4:00-5:30 PM

see y'all soon!

09/05/2019

Hi! We just wanted anyone looking for jobs this year to know that SHIC is hiring (3 full year positions and 1 [EDIT] FALL Semester Position). We are especially looking for first, second years, and 3rd years going abroad in the spring. Apply here :)

The Sexual Health Information Center (SHIC) is a student resource and organization located in the Main 1st lobby. It is run under SGA. The center has two primary components: a safer s*x supplies store with condoms lubricants, pregnancy tests, etc., and a peer education program. Obligations include a...

09/05/2019

Hi! We just wanted anyone looking for jobs this year to know that SHIC is hiring (3 full year positions and 1 Spring Semester Position). We are especially looking for first, second years, and 3rd years going abroad in the spring. Apply here :)
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeyzoOBvHKdWAr3lzuKo87N4sqlKYTLNjoYO_OqVhYTSotaRw/viewform?usp=sf_link