Menstruation Meets its Match with Campus Clubs
Two clubs are collecting feminine products for students or to be donated to outside organizations
By Emily Guerra
Two clubs are collecting feminine products for students or to be donated to outside organizations
By Emily Guerra
Providing feminine products to people who menstruate both on and off campus has become a hot button issue and a quickly increasing dilemma.
The Student Action Committee, along with the Girls Learn International club, are collecting sanitary pads and tampons in English classes in order to provide easier access to feminine products. SAC is gathering donations to put in the student bathrooms, while GLI is asking for donations to contribute to Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence.
According to Michaela Harrel, 12, president of GLI, people who menstruate who are victims of domestic violence often rely on donated feminine products because they were financially reliant on their partner and struggle to afford even necessary products like period supplies.
“In a lot of cases, the reason these women were in situations of domestic violence was because they were economically or financially dependent on their partner and now that they have been able to get away from that situation, they are more likely to suffer from poverty. That means that they have less money to spare on the necessities like pads and tampons, especially with pads and tampons being taxed as luxury items, but people with periods still needing them every single month.”
Students can help victims of domestic violence by donating menstrual supplies in the designated boxes in English teachers’ classrooms.
“We have boxes in every English room for students to donate pads or tampons. At the end of each week, we’re going to collect, compile them and sort them and we will donate them to Next Door Solutions for Domestic Violence, our local domestic violence shelter, because there’s never enough pads to go around, especially for women who are victims of domestic violence,” said Harrel.
Meanwhile, the Student Action Committee is participating in the Pink Box Project, a project started by Lincoln High School, where it was met with praise by both staff and students. They are requesting donations of feminine products to supply to those who get their periods on campus.
Club member Taylor Kindel, 10, feels it is important to help students get the period supplies they need, so that they can focus on being a high school student rather than finding the means to buy pads and tampons.
“A lot of us are fortunate enough to get all the expensive things, but there are also people who are struggling to get hygiene products, and students who are struggling to get the necessary equipment for classes, so it’s important that we make sure they’re taken care of too,” said Kindel.
The feminine products will be accessible in each bathroom stall, where a box will be installed next to the white trash cans. Access to pads and tampons inside stalls prevents girls from being deterred from grabbing products because of embarrassment or the stigma surrounding menstrual supplies.
“I know a lot of my friends have had awkward situations where we’re worried we got our period, and then we have to go around asking (for a pad or tampon). If someone doesn’t have it and unless we want to walk all the way to the nurse’s office, there’s really nowhere to go,” said Kindel.
“I think it makes a difference, makes the school an easier place to be at, makes it safer for everyone here and makes it more comfortable to be here and feel supported where they are and be able to come here and not be worried.”
While the Pink Box Project was well received at Lincoln High School, Renee Boissier, 11, worries that the boxes will be abused.
“As a community we need to lift each other up and find ways to help each other. Please don’t vandalize the pink boxes and only take what you need. If you don’t need it, leave it for someone who truly does,” said Boissier.
Both clubs agree that people who have periods, on campus or not, deserve to have access to hygiene products so that they can worry about other, more important issues in their lives.
“It makes the world a better place to provide that for them and makes it easy for them to get access to that so they can focus on the other things in their life,” said Harrel. “They don’t have to worry about something that happens once a month.”
The Student Action Committee, along with the Girls Learn International club, are collecting sanitary pads and tampons in English classes in order to provide easier access to feminine products. SAC is gathering donations to put in the student bathrooms, while GLI is asking for donations to contribute to Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence.
According to Michaela Harrel, 12, president of GLI, people who menstruate who are victims of domestic violence often rely on donated feminine products because they were financially reliant on their partner and struggle to afford even necessary products like period supplies.
“In a lot of cases, the reason these women were in situations of domestic violence was because they were economically or financially dependent on their partner and now that they have been able to get away from that situation, they are more likely to suffer from poverty. That means that they have less money to spare on the necessities like pads and tampons, especially with pads and tampons being taxed as luxury items, but people with periods still needing them every single month.”
Students can help victims of domestic violence by donating menstrual supplies in the designated boxes in English teachers’ classrooms.
“We have boxes in every English room for students to donate pads or tampons. At the end of each week, we’re going to collect, compile them and sort them and we will donate them to Next Door Solutions for Domestic Violence, our local domestic violence shelter, because there’s never enough pads to go around, especially for women who are victims of domestic violence,” said Harrel.
Meanwhile, the Student Action Committee is participating in the Pink Box Project, a project started by Lincoln High School, where it was met with praise by both staff and students. They are requesting donations of feminine products to supply to those who get their periods on campus.
Club member Taylor Kindel, 10, feels it is important to help students get the period supplies they need, so that they can focus on being a high school student rather than finding the means to buy pads and tampons.
“A lot of us are fortunate enough to get all the expensive things, but there are also people who are struggling to get hygiene products, and students who are struggling to get the necessary equipment for classes, so it’s important that we make sure they’re taken care of too,” said Kindel.
The feminine products will be accessible in each bathroom stall, where a box will be installed next to the white trash cans. Access to pads and tampons inside stalls prevents girls from being deterred from grabbing products because of embarrassment or the stigma surrounding menstrual supplies.
“I know a lot of my friends have had awkward situations where we’re worried we got our period, and then we have to go around asking (for a pad or tampon). If someone doesn’t have it and unless we want to walk all the way to the nurse’s office, there’s really nowhere to go,” said Kindel.
“I think it makes a difference, makes the school an easier place to be at, makes it safer for everyone here and makes it more comfortable to be here and feel supported where they are and be able to come here and not be worried.”
While the Pink Box Project was well received at Lincoln High School, Renee Boissier, 11, worries that the boxes will be abused.
“As a community we need to lift each other up and find ways to help each other. Please don’t vandalize the pink boxes and only take what you need. If you don’t need it, leave it for someone who truly does,” said Boissier.
Both clubs agree that people who have periods, on campus or not, deserve to have access to hygiene products so that they can worry about other, more important issues in their lives.
“It makes the world a better place to provide that for them and makes it easy for them to get access to that so they can focus on the other things in their life,” said Harrel. “They don’t have to worry about something that happens once a month.”