Students at St. Paul University are telling their school administration they “believe in science” in a petition protesting their school’s stance on condoms.

The trouble arose when the St. Paul University Student Association began giving away free condoms and a vice-rector wrote the group a letter saying, “It is evident that the distribution of condoms must cease.”

A student-protest petition called the situation a “condom ban,” but the administration and student association issued a joint statement Thursday saying condoms are not, in fact, banned. “The Administration only asked the student association to cease the distribution of condoms from their office,” the statement says.

Condoms are still available at the office, said student association president Khadeejat Momoh.

“We don’t actively hand them out to students because we respect that not all students agree with our stance,” she said.

St. Paul public ethics student Vincent Boies said the free condoms will prevent sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancy.

“People should be taking bags of them,” he said.

The issue is also theological, he said. “Some priests are saying now the Catholic religion has to now have a revolution in two manners, to accept women to be priests and a sexual revolution. A lot of priests are more understanding than we may think at this school.”