College Students Demand Free Tampons

[JumpyTheFrog]

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/03/11/students-demand-free-tampons-campus

[gardenmom5]

oh  for pete's sake.  

[sunflowerlady]

:huh:  :confused1: How have I survived for 46 years without people going out of their way to provide my menstrual supplies for me? 

[vonfirmath]

I guess these students think college should be more expensive. (or they do not understand the connection between "Free stuff" provided by the college and the cost of tuition and fees)

 

 

Edited March 16, 2016 by vonfirmath

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

:huh: :confused1: How have I survived for 46 years without people going out of their way to provide my menstrual supplies for me?

Because you are in a place where they are readily available, and you can afford them.

 

For those on limited means it can be hard to afford them.

[Bluegoat]

Menstrual products for people with low incomes are a real issue.  I am not all that convinced that they are an issue for everyone else.  And I don't really see hw offering the products free in universities or in state buildings will really help the homeless in a very efficient way.

 

I think the lesson from being caught without is usualy - carry something in your purse, always. 

 

I do support mestrual products being tax free, like groceries, and having them available in despensers isn't a bad plan either.  But I think this idea would be overly expensive and a pain to administer.  People tend to want to choose their own products anyway.

[ktgrok]

I think the comparison to condoms is dumb. But....we don't make people pay for toilet paper when they use a public bathroom. We don't make them carry it with them. It is provided for sanitary purposes. I can kind of see how a tampon/pad might fall into that category...sanitary products needed while in a bathroom stall. 

[LucyStoner]

I don't carry a purse. In college I carried pads in my book bag but sometimes was caught without them.

 

A group I founded in college pitched, among other things, a big old campaign to get the college to start stocking the previously always empty sanitary supply machines in the women's restrooms. We got that done.

 

But we were those annoying chicks who used to go around and add dental dams to the condom baskets. The ire that we inspired with that was , um, completely and totally insane. We recieved hate mail over it. That still makes me laugh. And worry.

Edited March 16, 2016 by LucyStoner

[Katy]

Meh.  I don't have a strong opinion about this either way.  Though I'm surprised people think they have a right to free disposable products.  That's a lot of money and a lot of waste. Plus, who would want to use the crappy cheap products the university would probably provide?  If I recall correctly, my high school nurse had free pads available, which I once used in a pinch, and oh, they were awful, very low quality.  OTOH, I don't recall the crappy washing machines in college having the same sanitize cycle I use at home for reusable cloth products.  If everyone had $100 worth of reusable cloth pads plus something like a menstrual cup, that would provide them with coverage for years, but it probably wouldn't be sanitary to "clean" them in a regular washing machine. 

 

 

ETA:  Wait, don't some schools provide free birth control pills, which when taken continuously would prevent having periods at all?

Edited March 16, 2016 by Katy

[happi duck]

Every time I buy supplies I am truly thankful that I can not only afford what my dd and I need but we also get to choose the products we like best.

 

I do think it's important that all women have the supplies they need. When dd realized not everyone has what they need we found places to donate.

 

This article though makes no sense to me:

Free condoms are a totally different issue.

Can't women just carry a spare in their purses/bags?

Even toilet paper is on lockdown so entire rolls are not stolen. Keeping public restrooms stocked with pads etc seems impossible.

 

I do think it fair to have a place where students could get supplies if they're truly broke.

 

I know lots of 'sort of private' places that keep a stash under the sink in the women's room. (dentist office, church, staff bathrooms)

Edited March 16, 2016 by happi duck

[ktgrok]

Meh.  I don't have a strong opinion about this either way.  Though I'm surprised people think they have a right to free disposable products.  

 

 

Like I said, we all seem to be fine with the idea that people have a right to free, disposable toilet paper in every public bathroom. 

[elegantlion]

We have dispensers in our bathrooms, I think some of them are free. Hm, never thought to check as I know my cycle well enough to carry something when needed. I'll have to look into that. 

[HomeAgain]

Give them all a cup as a welcome to college gift.  If they want disposable, they can buy them on their own.

[Carrie12345]

When I look at how much it costs to now keep THREE women in our home stocked in our preferred products, I do genuinely and deeply feel for those on very tight budgets!  I'd be willing to stand behind a "free" program.

 

(I'm trying to think back to how I manged when I was on my own and flat broke, and I can't for the life of me remember!)

[Murphy101]

Good grief.

 

Go to college for an education. If they are going to gripe for something worthwhile and life changing, gripe for free books or to do away with lab fees.

 

They are a adults, At college for an education.

 

Buy their own clothes, panty needs, and either keep their pants on or buy their own birth control.

 

The college is not their mommy to provide all their needs.

 

Grow up and take some responsibility and provide for their own basic needs and choices or do what every other grown adult has to do if they can't - suck up their pride and get in line to have the state or the charities help them.

 

This crap makes me think maybe I should not want to send my kids to college bc I don't want this moronic nonsense to be what they come to expect and demand of the world.

 

To note, I have no issue with the coin or card operated machines where they can pay a $1 and get a pad or tampon. It's no different that some family friendly places that have diaper dispensing machines. It's not free bc it's not intended to be used all the time, just when someone finds themselves in a pinch.

 

If someone going to college literally can't afford to buy a box of sanitary needs, then going to college is the least of their worries. If they can't afford pads, then they likely can't afford to stay in college whether you give them free pads or not.

Edited March 16, 2016 by Murphy101

[Laurie]

This article from the Columbia student newspaper was linked:  http://columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2016/02/19/columbia-should-pay-my-period

 

The writer complains that a woman could end up spending $96 a year on tampons.   I wonder how much many are paying per year for their cell phones?

 

Where do they carry their cell phones?   Put a tampon next to the phone and stop being a cheapskate.  

 

[Murphy101]

When I look at how much it costs to now keep THREE women in our home stocked in our preferred products, I do genuinely and deeply feel for those on very tight budgets! I'd be willing to stand behind a "free" program.

 

(I'm trying to think back to how I manged when I was on my own and flat broke, and I can't for the life of me remember!)

Now it's not enough to provide them for free, but they should provide an array of choices so they can get their preferred kind?

 

Ugh.

 

No. At best you will get about as high a quality tampon or pads as the toilet paper, of which they do not provide preferred options to select from. (Gah. I hope not anyways.)

 

Even so, what the heck are you people buying?!

 

I buy what I consider are really expensive pads for two females in the house so far. I spend about $30 a month tops.

 

Eta: no I'm curious, so I'm going to go do the math...

Edited March 16, 2016 by Murphy101

[Murphy101]

Alrighty. I get the more expensive kind bc I have heavy flows and these things are great.

 

Always radiant infinity. $6.97 on Amazon. One box is enough for both myself and my daughter for the month bc they really are great. (Some brands I would easily go through an entire box myself bc they just weren't very good for heavy cycles.)

 

Still. $7 a month basicly. Free shipping and can set it up for auto delivery.

 

That's just $84 a year.

 

I doubt you can find a single college attendee who isn't soending more than that in coffee and pizza every year.

 

ETA: and note I was totally off on how much I spend a month. No where near $30.

Edited March 16, 2016 by Murphy101

[FaithManor]

First of all, it won't be free, they'll just up tuition and fees to cover it so either by taxpayer financial aid, student loans, or campus job, it will still be paid for.

 

Second, what each woman wants, what works well for her, is very individual so it makes very little sense to stock much of this, and of course the school will need the discount that goes with bulk ordering so will only stock one brand which will elicit objectives from the women who don't like that brand.

 

Third, this needs to be budgeted just like paper and pens. Campus job if need be.

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Well personal story.  I worked and worked and worked the semester before I entered college.  I put the money in the bank.  It was to be used for necessities.  I was not going to be able to find a job while living on campus.  There just weren't many to go around within walking distance.  So when I went to go pay my final bill before starting they asked if I had any money in the bank.  I told them what I had.  They made me use it to pay the final bill (they reduced financial aid by that much).  I had NO money.  So yes, buying personal products was literally a problem.  Had I known they were going to do that I would have not put the money in the bank.  Sounds crazy as heck, but yep that is what happened.  I had no idea.

 

I left after one semester because that wasn't going to work.  I transferred to a closer school and got a job.  I still made so little money that it was a problem to afford basic needs.  At the time they gave credit cards very easily to students.  So I racked up bills to get through.  The majority of stuff I spent money on were necessities including medical and dental bills.  By the time I graduated I had to declare bankruptcy.

 

So it's not as crazy as it sounds for some people. 

[SKL]

Personally I would view this as proof that these young people don't have enough real problems to worry about.  I think they need harder tests.

 

I got scared and quit reading after the "why doesn't my university care about how I handle my menstrual cycle."  Let me outta here.  I don't WANT my university to give ANY thought to what goes on inside my underwear.

 

I would support supplying them at food pantries and such for low-income women, sure.

[plansrme]

Get a job, girlies. This entitlement mentality is going to be the ruin of this country.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Get a job, girlies. This entitlement mentality is going to be the ruin of this country.

 

Yeah ok.  How do you get a job with no transportation among thousands of college students competing for the same jobs within walking distance?

 

You have no damn clue how things are for some people.  So get a clue girlie.

[ktgrok]

Get a job, girlies. This entitlement mentality is going to be the ruin of this country.

 

I assume you bring your own toilet paper with you to every public bathroom you frequent, and your own hand soap as well. Because entitlement.....

[SKL]

Why stop at tampons?  Shouldn't they include "free" panties?  Doesn't my university CARE if I have underwear??

[SKL]

I think this is where I'd send everyone an email reminding them that there are children starving to death around the world.  And children who will never get a 1st grade education because they don't have clothes to wear to school.

 

Come on.

 

I used to buy generic tampons.  They aren't that expensive.

 

As for toilet paper, I've been to plenty of places that don't supply any.  I try to wear pants with pockets, and carry emergency tissue, just in case.

[SparklyUnicorn]

There are two ways to get jobs.  One, you have help.  Help with transportation, etc.  At least to get started.  Two is to have money.  But you can't have money with no job.  So next hopefully you have help.  But if you don't...you are basically screwed if you live in a place without many options. 

 

Again, some people obviously have no idea what it is like for some people. 

 

 

[Murphy101]

Yeah ok. How do you get a job with no transportation among thousands of college students competing for the same jobs within walking distance?

 

You have no damn clue how things are for some people. So get a clue girlie.

I have a clue. Several kids in college and dh and I would qualify for food stamps if he made just slightly less.

 

And you gave a prime example. That's not the college for them then. They should do as you did and find another college. It will still be tight, because such is life, but it is most certainly doable.

 

If you can't afford to attend a college and buy your pads, then you can't afford to attend that college.

 

It's that simple.

 

It's one of the many reasons my sons have no chosen to attend small rural colleges even though their estimated financial aid package would have been more than the big campuses they decided on. They crunched the math and did some in depth research on life there and realized they would have a very hard time getting part time jobs and or the few work study positions. Which would be enough of a blow to greatly hinder any help a greater financial aid package might have given.

 

They decided on a much bigger school bc it also has a huge college town of jobs and work study possibilities and when the final official offers came in, the bigger schools also ended up having more financial aid packages too.

 

Just because someone wants to attend a college doesn't mean they should or can afford it.

[SKL]

I don't think poverty is the argument these women are using though.  Is it?  When I was on regular cycles, I probably spent $20/year for feminine protection.  If these women are claiming a subsidy is needed due to poverty, I hope they aren't wearing make-up or jewelry, eating junk food or restaurant food, purchasing any but the most cheap and essential school supplies.  If that is the case and they still can't afford tampons, by all means give them some.

Edited March 16, 2016 by SKL

[FaithManor]

Well personal story. I worked and worked and worked the semester before I entered college. I put the money in the bank. It was to be used for necessities. I was not going to be able to find a job while living on campus. There just weren't many to go around within walking distance. So when I went to go pay my final bill before starting they asked if I had any money in the bank. I told them what I had. They made me use it to pay the final bill (they reduced financial aid by that much). I had NO money. So yes, buying personal products was literally a problem. Had I known they were going to do that I would have not put the money in the bank. Sounds crazy as heck, but yep that is what happened. I had no idea.

 

I left after one semester because that wasn't going to work. I transferred to a closer school and got a job. I still made so little money that it was a problem to afford basic needs. At the time they gave credit cards very easily to students. So I racked up bills to get through. The majority of stuff I spent money on were necessities including medical and dental bills. By the time I graduated I had to declare bankruptcy.

 

So it's not as crazy as it sounds for some people.

I get it and I am not heartless, but if colleges do this what is next? Shampoo, conditioner, deodorant,and again everyone else on campus pays for it. As a parent who will have two in college next year who has too much income to get financial aid and not enough income to write two checks for $25,000 each, I am tired of the constant tuition/room and board hikes that get passed on to the crowd whose kids do not get financial assistance. A much better plan, one I am very much in favor of, is for colleges to ask for help from local women's groups to provide this service as a charitable contribution to the women on campus or for sororities to fundraise for these needs.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I have a clue. Several kids in college and dh and I would qualify for food stamps if he made just slightly less.

 

And you gave a prime example. That's not the college for them then. They should do as you did and find another college. It will still be tight, because such is life, but it is most certainly doable.

 

If you can't afford to attend a college and buy your pads, then you can't afford to attend that college.

 

It's that simple.

 

It's one of the many reasons my sons have no chosen to attend small rural colleges even though their estimated financial aid package would have been more than the big campuses they decided on. They crunched the math and did some in depth research on life there and realized they would have a very hard time getting part time jobs and or the few work study positions. Which would be enough of a blow to greatly hinder any help a greater financial aid package might have given.

 

They decided on a much bigger school bc it also has a huge college town of jobs and work study possibilities and when the final official offers came in, the bigger schools also ended up having more financial aid packages too.

 

Just because someone wants to attend a college doesn't mean they should or can afford it.

 

Sure why should a poor bitch like me get to go to college?  Wow

 

I went to a state school.  It wasn't going to get cheaper than that. 

 

 

[goldberry]

  So when I went to go pay my final bill before starting they asked if I had any money in the bank.  I told them what I had.  They made me use it to pay the final bill (they reduced financial aid by that much).  I had NO money.  

That is heartbreaking!  To work so hard and then just have them take it like that!  

 

 

As for toilet paper, I've been to plenty of places that don't supply any.  I try to wear pants with pockets, and carry emergency tissue, just in case.

 

Where does that happen?  Not supply on purpose, or are out?

[Murphy101]

I think this is where I'd send everyone an email reminding them that there are children starving to death around the world. And children who will never get a 1st grade education because they don't have clothes to wear to school.

 

Come on.

 

I used to buy generic tampons. They aren't that expensive.

 

As for toilet paper, I've been to plenty of places that don't supply any. I try to wear pants with pockets, and carry emergency tissue, just in case.

lol. Me too! I always have those little packets of Kleenex and also those little packets of wet wipes for my purse. I'm going to be the little old lady who always saves the wet wipes they give out at restaurants. Because parenting has taught me to be paranoid that you just never know when the next gross moment needs cleaned up and no one has anything to clean with.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I get it and I am not heartless, but if colleges do this what is next? Shampoo, conditioner, deodorant,and again everyone else on campus pays for it. As a parent who will have two in college next year who has too much income to get financial aid and not enough income to write two checks for $25,000 each, I am tired of the constant tuition/room and board hikes that get passed on to the crowd whose kids do not get financial assistance. A much better plan, one I am very much in favor of, is for colleges to ask for help from local women's groups to provide this service as a charitable contribution to the women on campus or for sororities to fundraise for these needs.

 

I would have been happy with them throwing me a small bone and lending me a bit more money or giving me a bit more in grants.  These are necessities not luxuries.  I can't just set that "wish" aside until later on I can afford it. 

 

Doesn't matter, I graduated from college.  I just understand how hard it can be to afford this stuff so I get it.  Boys, on the other hand, don't have an equivalent necessity that would literally interfere with their ability to go to college if they couldn't afford to obtain it.

[SKL]

I am sure there are people who can't live their dream due to poverty, job scarcity, and the high cost of universities.  But I really don't think tampons are the issue there. If women want to make college accessible to lower income women, there are better ways to address it than getting in their undies.  But when I was in university, the fancy agitator chicks were really quite fine not having low income women around.  I really don't think that's the issue at all.

[Murphy101]

Sure why should a poor bitch like me get to go to college? Wow

 

I went to a state school. It wasn't going to get cheaper than that.

Oh for crap's sake.

 

There are literally thousands of colleges in this nation and most of them are not in the boonies without transport or job possibilities.

 

Wth.

 

You said yourself that you solved the problem by going to a different college. Money was still extremely tight and you had debt, but you did it. Yay you.

 

Geez.

[SparklyUnicorn]

That is heartbreaking!  To work so hard and then just have them take it like that!  

 

 

Where does that happen?  Not supply on purpose, or are out?

 

Yes it was.  I had no idea.  To this day I really don't understand it.  I wish I would have talked to someone in financial aid and fought them on it.  Kinda blindsided me.  I had no help.  I filled out the forms myself and navigated everything.  Hearing what some parents here do to help their kids out is so wonderful.  I will definitely be different towards my kids. 

[6packofun]

Sure why should a poor bitch like me get to go to college?  Wow

 

 

I went to a state school.  It wasn't going to get cheaper than that. 

 

But wait, you were poor so where did you get your feminine hygiene products?  

[goldberry]

I get it and I am not heartless, but if colleges do this what is next? Shampoo, conditioner, deodorant,and again everyone else on campus pays for it. As a parent who will have two in college next year who has too much income to get financial aid and not enough income to write two checks for $25,000 each, I am tired of the constant tuition/room and board hikes that get passed on to the crowd whose kids do not get financial assistance. A much better plan, one I am very much in favor of, is for colleges to ask for help from local women's groups to provide this service as a charitable contribution to the women on campus or for sororities to fundraise for these needs.

 

But do you really think it's tampons or even shampoo that would make up the hikes?  C'mon...  try administration salaries, sports programs, new buildings that aren't really needed..   

 

I too am APPALLED at the costs we are looking at for college.  But seriously, even if they were giving away super maxis by the boxful, that would not account for it.  Greed is what accounts for it.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Oh for crap's sake.

 

There are literally thousands of colleges in this nation and most of them are not in the boonies without transport or job possibilities.

 

Wth.

 

You said yourself that you solved the problem by going to a different college. Money was still extremely tight and you had debt, but you did it. Yay you.

 

Geez.

 

I lived in a state that had no public transportation.  If it was almost impossible for me to manage affording to get to a college within my own tiny state, how would I have gotten further? 

 

Living at home was HELL. 

[SKL]

A couple times I made my own "tampon" out of the available TP because I was unprepared.  It was a lesson to be more prepared.  :P

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

 

 

The idea that if you are too poor to afford menstrual products you are comfortable with, you shouldn't get a college education.

 

 

I don't even know what to say.

 

Just wow.

[SKL]

But do you really think it's tampons or even shampoo that would make up the hikes?  C'mon...  try administration salaries, sports programs, new buildings that aren't really needed..   

 

I too am APPALLED at the costs we are looking at for college.  But seriously, even if they were giving away super maxis by the boxful, that would not account for it.  Greed is what accounts for it.

 

Well, they will probably have to hire a Doctor of Nursing and two assistants to make sure the right kind of tampons are purchased.  :/

[SparklyUnicorn]

But wait, you were poor so where did you get your feminine hygiene products?  

 

Oh well  I got super duper lucky.  Combination of bringing some with me, a boyfriend who gave me a few bucks here or there, AND getting a free Depo Shot at a free woman's clinic which made me have periods very infrequently.  But guess what?  People want to shut those places down too because they get their panties in a twist because some of those places sometimes perform abortions.

[SKL]

The idea that if you are too poor to afford menstrual products you are comfortable with, you shouldn't get a college education.

 

 

I don't even know what to say.

 

Just wow.

 

OK I come from a poor family.  There were 6 kids.  When I was in undergrad, both of my parents and 4 of their children were in college.  (The other 2 kids were younger.)  We stood in line for cheese when I was in high school, OK?

 

Not ever, not once, did the cost of tampons arise as a consideration for whether we could go to college.  I mean, we got our clothes at the Salvation Army, but we were not too poor for tampons.  I don't believe there has ever been one young adult who was informed college was not happening for her because there was no way to afford the tampons she would need while pursuing her degree.

 

Sadly, I'm not surprised the discourse about college access has come to this.  But it is sad.

 

Edited March 16, 2016 by SKL

[FaithManor]

But do you really think it's tampons or even shampoo that would make up the hikes? C'mon... try administration salaries, sports programs, new buildings that aren't really needed..

 

I too am APPALLED at the costs we are looking at for college. But seriously, even if they were giving away super maxis by the boxful, that would not account for it. Greed is what accounts for it.

Yup. Btdt got the t shirt. The women in my college complained about the quality of the Tp. He next year they provided a different brand along with a $500 hike in room and board. Students seriously need to not give these insitutions fodder/excuses to increase costs. Really. I am ALL for charitable institutions and sororities getting involved with fundraising. Nothing wrong with the local women's group giving each female college student several pkgs of pads or boxes of tampons each year.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I'm not saying the schools should give out free tampons.  I guess what I'm saying is that this sort of thing should at the very least be considered a necessity calculated into financial aid.  SOMETHING.  I couldn't get more money simply because of limits.  Not because I wasn't needy enough. 

 

There were some grants I didn't qualify for because my parents were not on welfare.  However, due to the fact they spent every single extra piddly dime on their mental health drugs,etc. there was no money.  There was nowhere to put on the FA form "parents have no money because they have a mental illness".

Later on when I learned more about what I could ask for and how FA worked I often went and asked for more money and I got it.  I just did not know how this stuff worked when I started.  Well that and limits increase as you go along.

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

OK I come from a poor family.  There were 6 kids.  When I was in undergrad, both of my parents and 4 of their children were in college.  (The other 2 kids were younger.)  We stood in line for cheese when I was in high school, OK?

 

Not ever, not once, did the cost of tampons arise as a consideration for what we could afford and whether we could afford to go to college.  I don't believe there has ever been one young adult who was informed college was not happening for her because there was no way to afford the tampons she would need while pursuing her degree.

 

Sadly, I'm not surprised the discourse about college access has come to this.  But it is sad.

 

 

then you weren't that poor

[Guest]

A couple times I made my own "tampon" out of the available TP because I was unprepared. It was a lesson to be more prepared. :P

BTDT. I also went without breakfast one week to be able to afford TP - there just wasn't enough on my student account. That still doesn't make me want to raise tuition to make every other student cover that. I can't imagine feeling entitled enough to demand someone else pay for my products. I actually bought myself a cup in college to partially solve the issue.

[Murphy101]

I lived in a state that had no public transportation. If it was almost impossible for me to manage affording to get to a college within my own tiny state, how would I have gotten further?

 

Living at home was HELL.

You make no sense.

 

First you say you worked your butt off to save money and the college took it all.

 

You could just as easily used that money to transport yourself to another college. Heck. Another coast.

 

But you didn't.

 

It does sound like a lot of your problems were from simple ignorance of your options. I get it. Dh and I didn't exactly have guiding fonts of parental inspiration either.

 

Addressing THAT deficiency in attaining college would do a lot more for young poor people than free tampons and birth control.

 

There are ways of shifting money so that the college doesn't get it all, or at least not in one fell swoop. But few students are told anything beyond to fill out the FAFSA.

 

There are ways of evaluating ALL that a college and its locality have to offer to determine if it will best meet the students living needs.

 

There are hard conversations about what's worth sacrificing for and what isn't and what no amount of sacrificing is going to accomplish. Conversations where you look at your kid straight on and tell them, that is a dream come true college. But it is not the college for your dreams bc it just isn't going to meet your criteria for success to happen. So let's find one that will.

 

I'm sorry you didn't have someone to help you and I completely agree that the shooting in the dark without guidance is probably THE biggest reason those from poverty drop out of college.

 

But no amount of free tampons is going to fix that.