College Students Demand Free Tampons

[TranquilMind]

There we go, a silly issue that you continually waste your time on.

 

 

They don't think so. Your opinion is not objective fact.

 

 

Personal charity is not capable of providing an adequate social safety net. Nor is it appropriate for people to have to depend on asking others face-to-face for assistance.

Excuse me.  As to the bolded, which is my statement, It is a board rule that you quote a person accurately, if I am not mistaken.  Not to mention that it is appropriate and respectful, rather than to just snipe at several posters, unattributed, so they won't even be notified that they have been quoted.

[skimomma]

 

 

Nor is it appropriate for people to have to depend on asking others face-to-face for assistance.

 

This is food for thought for me.

 

What do you mean by this?  I am about as liberal as they get but I'm not sure I agree with this the way I understand it.  Do you mean that when one needs assistance they should never have to ask/face those offering that assistance?   

 

ETA - You edited after I responded.  I see you clarified.  

Edited March 18, 2016 by skimomma

[Murphy101]

I've always carried at least 2-3 pads on me. Even pregnant. Because one never knows when water will break (and did you know it will keep breaking?! Like every 15-30 minutes?! ) or even pregnant ladies can have spotting and I have daughters and bc I just never took them out after I found I was pregnant.

[Tanaqui]

If this is a board rule, let a moderator handle it. Though I've just now looked at the rules, and there's nothing in there about quoting others. At any rate, the only edit I made to your words was correcting a spelling error, so I certainly quoted you "accurately".

 

As for "they won't even be notified", I have said before I have no idea what you mean. I get no such notifications.

[TranquilMind]

I had very heavy periods which resulted in accidents on more than one occasion. It never would have crossed my mind to lay the lack of foresight/preparedness at anyone's feet but my own. I appreciate that some women may have a difficult time affording the necessary personal care items, but that does not seem to be the thrust of this movement. It appears to be yet another demand that we get babied well beyond the point that we should expect such a thing.

You are obviously of a very different mindset than these students and a couple of posters. 

Right there with you. 

[SKL]

If everyone in society owes everyone, then when are you going to come and do my job for me so I can take time off to go to the chiropractor?  I haven't been able to go for months and my back is killing me.  Same with the dentist and the eye doctor.  I'm a mess over here, and it's actually your fault because you should have arranged things so I wouldn't be in this predicament.

[TranquilMind]

If this is a board rule, let a moderator handle it. Though I've just now looked at the rules, and there's nothing in there about quoting others. At any rate, the only edit I made to your words was correcting a spelling error, so I certainly quoted you "accurately".

 

As for "they won't even be notified", I have said before I have no idea what you mean. I get no such notifications.

Well, apparently you should learn more about both board etiquette and usage then.  The notifications come at the left of your name at the top of the screen.  If you are using a phone, they come when you tap an icon at the top of the screen.  If you corrected a typo, fine, but had you quoted me, I would have gone back to correct it myself.  

At any rate, as a matter of etiquette,  quote your source, not just snip sentences out of context without attribution to the person who wrote it.  That's fair, so other people and the writer both know to whom you are responding.  It can get quite confusing when multiple people are saying similar things, as is actually happening in this thread. 

[Murphy101]

Personal charity is not capable of providing an adequate social safety net. Nor is it appropriate for people to have to depend on asking others face-to-face for assistance, a situation which is embarrassing for both parties. The most appropriate form of charity is when the giver and the recipient don't know each other.

I completely disagree and think that's part of the problem.

 

We don't want to see, or hear, or God forbid come into personal contact with those in need. So we take steps to make ourselves feel "safer" (and isn't it odd how often it also seems to make people feel superior?) and those same steps cause poor people to become voiceless and invisible. I think it's despicable.

 

I have never ever been embarrassed by someone asking for assistance. I've had people ask me for diapers, gas money, food, clothing and I have never once found it embarrassing to me. What kind of butt nugget would I be to be embarrassed by that?

 

And maybe, if people weren't jerks to them, they wouldn't feel so much shame in asking.

 

As someone who was once on foodstamps and WIC, THAT was not exactly an ego boost. Most people feel ashamed to be there.

 

It's very easy to demonize and generalize and silence by shame people you don't ever have to actually have a conversation with.

[TranquilMind]

I completely disagree and think that's part of the problem.

 

We don't want to see, or hear, or God forbid come into personal contact with those in need. So we take steps to make ourselves feel "safer" (and isn't it odd how often it also seems to make people feel superior?) and those same steps cause poor people to become voiceless and invisible. I think it's despicable.

 

I have never ever been embarrassed by someone asking for assistance. I've had people ask me for diapers, gas money, food, clothing and I have never once found it embarrassing to me. What kind of butt nugget would I be to be embarrassed by that?

 

And maybe, if people weren't jerks to them, they wouldn't feel so much shame in asking.

 

As someone who was once on foodstamps and WIC, THAT was not exactly an ego boost. Most people feel ashamed to be there.

 

It's very easy to demonize and generalize and silence by shame people you don't ever have to actually have a conversation with.

So true.

 

"Am I my brother's keeper?" 

 

 

Yes.   You (or I) personally should do something when within your (or my) power to help someone in your sphere. 

 

 

Not, "Oh, well, I donate to (X Charity) so I have done my part." or the very typical (and aimed only toward the middle class), "You all need to pay much higher taxes so that I can have whatever I want provided to me." 

[Bluegoat]

LOL, FYI, I've had 30 years of periods, and I haven't predicted a single one except for the few years when I was on hormonal birth control pills.

 

Not all women are "periodic" or "predictable". No matter how well I know my body, each and every time is a "surprise". Cycles range from 26-100+ days all 30 years, never two periods the same length in a row . . . No signs that it's "coming" (and I tracked cervical mucous for years when trying to conceive, so I'm not squeamish and am in good touch with my body) . . . Even when I tracked my temperature, that never helped predict periods, only ovulation . . .

That's a kind of predictability. In the sense that you know you need to carry something all the time. I'm bad at remembering myself so I just make sure I always have pads in my purse.

[Haiku]

Personal charity is not capable of providing an adequate social safety net. 

 

Providing tampons to college students (and not just any college students, students at a prestigious and pricy university) is not a social safety net issue. I definitely think that it is a legitimate function of government to step in and assist people when the procurement of their needs is pretty much beyond their ability.

 

I don't see tampons for ivy league college students as that sort of issue.

 

I do see it as appropriate for the government to include them in a food stamp or healthcare program.

 

And asking a woman to give you a tampon is really not charity. It's asking a favor. I have no problem with asking people for favors and even less problem asking random women for a tampon (back when I wore them) because, really, women get it. No one is going to accuse me of running a scam if I ask a woman to give me a tampon. It's not like asking for money for the bus when I'm really going to use it on a pint of Kamchatka at the liquor store. It's not shameful to be caught off-guard with no tampon handy. It happens to women all the time. There's no social stigma to it, unless you start whining about how it's all someone else's fault.

Edited March 18, 2016 by TaraTheLiberator

[Bluegoat]

I really think that if more women used cups all of this would be a nonissue.

 

I get that it grosses some people out and others are afraid to even try it. I had one daughter like that, but tampons are not happening here due to the waste and risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome. Dd might have been happy with pads, but I wasn't letting her period limit our activities. "No, you are not missing the swim meet because you aren't willing to use your cup."

 

Eventually she tried it and never looked back.

 

I do not see the mess factor for communal living being a valid point. Just empty it in the toilet, wipe it off with toilet paper, clean it in the shower or sink. There would not even be enough blood left at that point to be offensive.

 

Sure there is an upfront cost. I would be happy to help college students with the initial purchase.

 

It would be safer. It would be cheaper and there would be no used disposable products to dispose of.

They don't work for all, I could not use one till after I had kids, and I know several people who have tried them and found them messy to use. It isn't that those who don't like them have all just never tried.

[SKL]

The costs of administering programs to make sure everyone at all income levels has everything they need at all times would use up all of the funds currently available to help the needy, and then some.  But hey, some people would be happy that their ideology was getting lip service.  That is what really matters after all.

[SKL]

I'm gonna guess that tampons are not provided "free" in all public bathrooms in countries where the socialist/communist experiment has been tried seriously.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong.  I'm guessing that even in countries that actively advocate "everyone owes everyone," tampons and similar aren't included in that mindset.

Edited March 18, 2016 by SKL

[gardenmom5]

Well, bringing this into the big "women are at a disadvantage" discussion is once again distorting the real issue beyond rational logic.

 

Yes, there are some things about being a women that are hard.  Bleeding and cramps rank right up there, but that is not a male conspiracy, so it's pretty dumb to couch it that way.  When it comes down to it, the costs of menstrutation are mostly shared between the sexes, as most families treat this as a grocery for the wife and the minor girls.  And besides, it is such a little bit of money in the grand scheme of things.  Changing this little thing is going to make zero difference in the real issues affecting women in the USA.

 

I also don't agree that it is cheaper to clothe and oufit a man than a woman.  A pair of men's shoes would blow my wardrobe budget for years.  :p  Women have far more choices in designing their appearance than men.  Women's socially acceptable choices are so much more varied in style, color, fabric, coverage, etc.  And "men don't have to shave" is not a serious argument unless you're talking about people who don't need to work.  For that matter, women don't have to wear protection.  They could choose to just bleed out on their clothes and get about the same result as a man who never takes care of his facial hair.  Not long ago, a woman made news for running a marathon without a tampon to prove some sort of point.  So yeah, it's a choice, but the reality is that men are gonna shave and women are gonna wear protection, and protection is probably the cheaper of the two.

 

and the cost of a *decent* (not top of the line) men's  suit . . . . . I don't spend that much money on clothes for myself in a YEAR.

[ebrindam]

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. 

 

Cloth pads can be washed just fine in a regular washing machine on a regular cycle. 

[LisaKinVA]

We pay to use public toilets here (common throughout Europe), and often have to provide our own toilet paper (Italy). I have learned to avoid certain places (squatty potties, hole in the ground), because I have slipped once too many times. I have learned which types of places to stop, where we can usually find nicer bathrooms. I have learned to carry coins on road trips, and our car always has TP. I have also purchased pee-mates for myself and the girls when we travel, because toilet seats are a luxury. My personal travel bag has grown. Soap and an effective method for drying hands is often a luxury.

 

I cannot fathom anyone in this country demanding free tampons.

[JadeOrchidSong]

We pay to use public toilets here (common throughout Europe), and often have to provide our own toilet paper (Italy). I have learned to avoid certain places (squatty potties, hole in the ground), because I have slipped once too many times. I have learned which types of places to stop, where we can usually find nicer bathrooms. I have learned to carry coins on road trips, and our car always has TP. I have also purchased pee-mates for myself and the girls when we travel, because toilet seats are a luxury. My personal travel bag has grown. Soap and an effective method for drying hands is often a luxury.

 

I cannot fathom anyone in this country demanding free tampons.

We also pay to use the bathroom and provide our own TP in my home country.

It seems that the more is provided, the more is demanded in the U. S. I just don't understand. This said by me, someone who had suffered hunger (never had breakfast) and cold (no shoes without holes) every day until college.

[TranquilMind]

We pay to use public toilets here (common throughout Europe), and often have to provide our own toilet paper (Italy). I have learned to avoid certain places (squatty potties, hole in the ground), because I have slipped once too many times. I have learned which types of places to stop, where we can usually find nicer bathrooms. I have learned to carry coins on road trips, and our car always has TP. I have also purchased pee-mates for myself and the girls when we travel, because toilet seats are a luxury. My personal travel bag has grown. Soap and an effective method for drying hands is often a luxury.

 

I cannot fathom anyone in this country demanding free tampons.

That "no free toilet use" thing is really weird and will be hard when I visit Europe, I think.  I'm going to have to carry tons of money everywhere to use the bathroom and figure out where those are.  I don't think I could use a hole!

 

I will certainly carry toilet paper. 

[gardenmom5]

We pay to use public toilets here (common throughout Europe), and often have to provide our own toilet paper (Italy). I have learned to avoid certain places (squatty potties, hole in the ground), because I have slipped once too many times. I have learned which types of places to stop, where we can usually find nicer bathrooms. I have learned to carry coins on road trips, and our car always has TP. I have also purchased pee-mates for myself and the girls when we travel, because toilet seats are a luxury. My personal travel bag has grown. Soap and an effective method for drying hands is often a luxury.

 

I cannot fathom anyone in this country demanding free tampons.

 

I haven't thought about pay-toilets in years.

 

there used to be some at the seattle center, which was the site of the 1962 world's fair.  I think they got rid of them in the 70's.  not all the toilets in the women's restroom were pay - but some were..  they were nicer stalls, and more likely to have TP.

[LisaKinVA]

That "no free toilet use" thing is really weird and will be hard when I visit Europe, I think. I'm going to have to carry tons of money everywhere to use the bathroom and figure out where those are. I don't think I could use a hole!

 

I will certainly carry toilet paper.

About 50cent Euro. Including public parks. If you're eating at a restaurant, bathroom use is included. Some places have attendants, others a machine, and sometimes you buy a bottle of water. You get used to it. Inside the airport (past security) is free...but you've already bought your tickets.

 

Most people carry the little tissue packs (think tiny facial tissue packs...not rolls)

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

But why can't you carry your own? Most women do. I've rarely been asked for a tampon in a bathroom, but if I were, I would happily give one. Most women know to carry their own.

I do carry my own, because they aren't available, and I can afford them.

 

Not the point.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

Thinking "I have a right to have no responsibility towards others in my society. I don't owe anybody anything" is a character issue.

 

I agree.

[StephanieZ]

Then you should probably carry menstrual products with you when you leave the house. :D

 

LOL, indeed, I do! 

[happypamama]

About 50cent Euro. Including public parks. If you're eating at a restaurant, bathroom use is included. Some places have attendants, others a machine, and sometimes you buy a bottle of water. You get used to it. Inside the airport (past security) is free...but you've already bought your tickets.

 

Most people carry the little tissue packs (think tiny facial tissue packs...not rolls)

See, I kind of wish they would have those here -- public pay toilets.  It can be hard to find a public toilet to use sometimes.  Lots of stores say "no public toilets."  Depending on the store, I end up feeling like I should purchase a little something if I use their bathroom.

 

As for college students stocking the bathrooms themselves, I am sure there are dorms where the girls already do that.  Our college dorm bathrooms were really nice, cleaned thoroughly twice a day, but they did not have paper towels in them.  I know there were sections where the girls would hang a hand towel for anyone to use, and someone would launder it periodically.  It hardly seems a stretch that someone wouldn't think to do that with tampons.

 

ETA: Ew to washing cloth pads in dorm washers.  I happily wash cloth diapers in my washer at home, but I don't think I'd want to wash cloth pads in a dorm washer for several reasons.  Call me a prude, but I lived in a co-ed dorm, and who knows who might grab your laundry from the washer or dryer if you weren't right there?  I didn't mind combining laundry loads with my boyfriend occasionally because we lived in the same dorm, and the machines were expensive, but did I really want him to see my undies?  Not so much.  Double for anything related to periods.  (This was, obviously, pre marriage and pre kids -- now that he's seen me give birth, I probably wouldn't care.  Lol.  But at eighteen or nineteen?  Not really.)  And also, you'd have to store the soiled ones somehow, and would there be an odor?  (I don't know; I use a cup.)  I think maybe cloth is not a viable option for most college girls.  I'll buy my kid a cup if she wants, but I'll also send her money to buy sanitary supplies, toothpaste, conditioner, and that sort of stuff, just like my parents did for me.  And if getting to a store isn't feasible, that's what care packages and Amazon Prime are for.  I feel for people who don't have supportive parents.  It's hard enough to work to pay for tuition/board/room while focusing on academics, but doubly hard if you're not even getting small amounts of help with necessities.

Edited March 19, 2016 by happypamama

[fraidycat]

Thinking "I have a right to have no responsibility towards others in my society. I don't owe anybody anything" is a character issue.

Speaking of fallacious statements...

 

Not one person here has said anything REMOTELY close to this statement.

[fraidycat]

Tampons are not "everything". And yes, I do believe that our society, on the whole, does owe everybody the necessities. Menstrual protection is a necessity... and not just for the person who is bleeding.

And about those diapers, incontinence protection, catheter stuff... Those are not necessary to those who use them? They are making a choice?

 

Why are these a slippery slope fallacy but menstrual products a necessity?

Edited March 19, 2016 by fraidycat

[JadeOrchidSong]

Tampons are not "everything". And yes, I do believe that our society, on the whole, does owe everybody the necessities. Menstrual protection is a necessity... and not just for the person who is bleeding.

How about our society also owes us food? After all, food is much more a necessity than tampons since everyone uses food, right?

[fraidycat]

How about our society also owes us food? After all, food is much more a necessity than tampons since everyone uses food, right?

Will, in fact, DIE without it. Not just "die of embarrassment" over stained clothing.

 

We're still not very good about the whole keeping everyone fed thing. Tampons for college students are about 3 million rungs below on the priority ladder.

Edited March 19, 2016 by fraidycat

[TX Native]

How about the adult aged students all get together and buy pads in bulk at the discount someone mentioned the college would pay for buying in bulk, divide them out among themselves, and use the savings to give away feminine products to their fellow community? That's like what some women do who can't afford bulk necessities on their own, can't afford the retail price, and don't qualify for "free" aid. Then the males could go in on a bulk group buy of Ramen noodles, divide it out, and give away the extras they saved in the budget by buying in bulk to those male students-without cell phones or eating out budgets-who don't have enough money for that next package of Ramen noodles. I single out Ramen noodles because Ramen noodles came in handy many times when hubby couldn't afford a complete meal and college fees. I can't believe a hundred years ago 16 year olds were getting married and running a household without asking anyone for a free feminine product. Today 20 year olds complain the college admins are thoughtless to not provide for women's feminine product needs since college+basic life necessities cost too much.

 

I love freely giving to those in need. I love freely receiving things when in need. I love that WIC, food pantries, social services, food stamps, general good will of citizens, and public aid exists. Colleges being held morally responsible for providing something other than a quality education to its consumers is over the top. It's like telling the grocery store owners the price for groceries is so high, the tampons should be free since it is also a basic need. Don't these same students need groceries, clean clothes, transportation, and other toiletries? Why not tell colleges they are cruel to not provide for every other need not directly related to offered courses for successful completion of a degree? And where would it end? If it is mean for businesses to not provide complimentary feminine products in restrooms for those taken by surprise, unprepared, or those who couldn't afford tampons that month; it is equally cruel to not provide extra diapers in public restrooms with a diaper changing tables.

 

I get that it is most difficult to make it through college on a shoestring that is about to break. I don't get that the college admin needs to buck up and find the money to put tampons in every female restroom without raising costs. For that matter, they should throw a free Ramen noodle vending machine in every male dorm to make things fair. Some male students do need calories they can't afford to purchase to make it through the next exam now and then. It is community working together that can help provide for the needs of others. A demand that a business marketed to provide the service of educational classes pay for the other basic needs of their adult consumers isn't going to work for the long haul. This is spoken by someone who paid about 2c for 2 squares of TP and the use of use a not clean, not private restroom in another country when I had little funds. I am so thankful for the sanititation required by health codes in our country's "free" restrooms. I could not imagine demanding a free tampon be provided in all places that provided a free place to pee as a basic human right. If colleges were morally obligated to provide this to students without increasing fees, shouldn't all businesses who provide paid or unpaid services to women between the ages of 11-60 have an equal obligation? Women who can't afford feminine products on top of other needs exist in uncountable places besides colleges. Shouldn't all businesses that allow babies on site also be morally obligated to provide diapers for those parents who either didn't prepare for an extra blow out or couldn't afford that extra diaper? I am not insensitive to those who can't afford diapers and freely give to those in need, but I don't expect businesses to provide free diapers to babies who use their changing tables anymore than I expect colleges to provide free tampons to women who use their toilet paper.

 

forgive the sarcasm as I try to figure what the next petition for change will be once colleges wake up and realize they have been neglectful of the reproductive adult female population by not obviously providing for their every sanitary need. End rant.

[Bluegoat]

I haven't thought about pay-toilets in years.

 

there used to be some at the seattle center, which was the site of the 1962 world's fair.  I think they got rid of them in the 70's.  not all the toilets in the women's restroom were pay - but some were..  they were nicer stalls, and more likely to have TP.

 

pay toilets seemed to disapear here in the early 80's.  I had a horrible experience once when I was visiting a city with my dad, and went in to find you had to pay to get into the stall - I had no money.  I crawled under, but then I could not get out, and there were other people in the washroom.  I waited until everyone was gone, and my poor father was beside himself.

[SKL]

LOL I didn't know you had to pay to use the toilet in the Paris train station until I was in a situation.  :P  I didn't have change, but there was a handy dandy change machine nearby.  I was very nervous about missing that super fast train from Paris to London.  Thankfully everyone was helpful since I had a young kid with me.  :P  I know some will say "poor planning," but the train had been delayed due to some sort of shutdown along the tunnel, and we had been standing in line for hours, with no news on how much longer it would be.  So, note to future travelers - keep some change in all the currencies just in case.  :)

[Guest2]

I haven't read all of the replies, but it seems like two different things are going on here.  One, people are destitute and having quite a bit of trouble providing for their basic needs.  The other is whether the university should provide for those needs.  I wish the universities could just provide a good basic education without the frills at a much lower cost. They don't need to provide food, housing, ect. 

[gardenmom5]

I haven't read all of the replies, but it seems like two different things are going on here.  One, people are destitute and having quite a bit of trouble providing for their basic needs.  The other is whether the university should provide for those needs.  I wish the universities could just provide a good basic education without the frills at a much lower cost. They don't need to provide food, housing, ect. 

 

yep - and the OP was about college students.   someone else brought in helping those in poverty - which no one has an issue with.

 

the issues are with college students wanting *someone else* to take responsiblity for their own sanitary needs.

 

I would like to see universities focusing on actual *education* . . . . (being responsible for their own choices - is an education for too many youngsters  . . . )

[Matryoshka]

But for the most part, women don't suddenly and unexpectedly menstruate. There are physical signs it's coming, and it happens on a more or less predictable schedule.

 

So nice to be you.

 

There are lots of women with irregular cycles who also don't have and huge impending signs it's coming.  I never knew when mine would show up, and I didn't have any noticeable PMS signs.  I have done lot of the improvised pad made with toilet paper thing when it surprised me when out.  I am just fortunate that I never had particularly heavy cycles.

 

I use cloth pads now - haven't bought anything in years and years.  I just toss them in a ditty bag and wash at the end of the week - no soaking or rinsing in sink needed.  I'm not sure how that would have worked in a communal laundry, though, as I do put them through a soak cycle before the wash cycle.  I remember in the dorms if you weren't there at the end of a wash cycle, someone would unceremoniously dump your wet laundry someplace and put their stuff in - I don't know if I'd want my wet pads tossed about the room...

 

[Bluegoat]

yep - and the OP was about college students.   someone else brought in helping those in poverty - which no one has an issue with.

 

the issues are with college students wanting *someone else* to take responsiblity for their own sanitary needs.

 

I would like to see universities focusing on actual *education* . . . . (being responsible for their own choices - is an education for too many youngsters  . . . )

 

Well, the article talked about helping people in poverty, so it is related, in teh minds of the people who wrote the thing.

 

And universities have a certain interest in making sure students are secure enough to really attend to their studies.

 

But the idea that university budgets would go to fight poverty in the community seemed rather odd. 

[PineFarmMom]

I haven't read all of the replies, but it seems like two different things are going on here. One, people are destitute and having quite a bit of trouble providing for their basic needs. The other is whether the university should provide for those needs. I wish the universities could just provide a good basic education without the frills at a much lower cost. They don't need to provide food, housing, ect.

Yes, this!! I remember my surprise at college orientation with my oldest when I found out exactly WHY college is so expensive. Please let's cut back to just an education. I don't want to pay for some college kid's legal fees or on-campus healthcare. It is expensive enough as it is. Now we can add sanitary products? Yeah, just NO!!!

[PineFarmMom]

Of course it is a character flaw. Thinking, "It sure would be nice if there were some tampons in this restroom, but there aren't, so I'm going to ask the next woman who comes in for one, and carry them next time" is normal.

 

Thinking, "I have a right to free tampons when and where I need them and I am not responsible for providing them for myself. Others owe me and they should purchase them for me." is indeed a character issue.

Yes, it is a character flaw!! You are correct!

[JadeOrchidSong]

Whether your cycle is regular or not, you are responsible for carrying some pads just in case. I do sometimes forget and would ask a woman friend for one or improvise with making a somewhat thick toilet paper pad until I get home or to a store to buy some.

Edited March 19, 2016 by JadeOrchidSong

[Bluegoat]

On campus health care is actually pretty important at most universities.  Kids are away from home and may not have much transport, but they still need medical care.  Sometimes local doctors may be less keen to take temporary patients, or in rural areas there may not be many.  It's also in the interests of the university to avoid having kids drop out due to not taking care of their health, which is why many of them provide some kind of health insurance.

 

I have wondered if a school that avoided things like big fitness centers and had very simple services and housing might appeal to some, places that spent their money on, say, full time faculty.  Part of the difficulty though is that staffing is always an expense that will rise faster than other kinds of expenses - you can't make teaching more efficient without compromising the quality.  So - this approach might not save much.

[MotherGoose]

Re the pay toilets in Europe: our tour guide in Paris, after cautioning us to be quick about our business, told us about the time he was not quick about his business in the pay toile, and while he was still on the throne, the automatic cleaning system began, which washed out the entire Stall and opened the doors. I was certainly quick about my business in there and was ready! You've just reminded me to take tp and change for our trip to Europe!

[Entropymama]

For those who have read Cloud and Townsend's 'Boundaries' - and I know it's popular here - there is a difference between your personal responsibility and the responsibility of those around you. We each have a 'burden' to bear; our own life and it's necessities. If our burden gets to be too much for us, then it's the responsibility of those around us to step in and help carry that burden. 

 

A woman's menstrual cycle falls squarely in her own burden. If she is incapable of dealing with it due to finances, mental or physical illness, etc., then it becomes someone else's responsibility to help her. No one is saying that someone who can't afford menstrual products should be forced to go without them, although I disagree that this is the university's responsibility (but this has already been discussed). 

 

The problem I see is that this young girl isn't saying she can't afford her tampons. She's saying that they're all the way on the other side of campus in her dorm room and she can't get at them right now. That's poor planning, and nobody's fault but hers. 

 

If she had some kind of mental impairment or physical ailment that prevented her from remembering to bring tampons or from carrying them with her, then I would say that she deserves some help. 

 

Is she going to assert that her first class of the day should provide breakfast, since she can't concentrate without it and forgot to set her alarm early enough? 

[gardenmom5]

 

 

If she had some kind of mental impairment or physical ailment that prevented her from remembering to bring tampons or from carrying them with her, then I would say that she deserves some help. 

 

Is she going to assert that her first class of the day should provide breakfast, since she can't concentrate without it and forgot to set her alarm early enough? 

 

 

if she had such an impairment - I'd wonder how she managed to get into college.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Colleges know which students are in greatest financial need so could they not distribute as well as make available care packs that include toiletries and menstrual products to these students? The contents of these care packs could be donated by by families who are better off for example. Our middle school /high school school does this for students in need.

Edited March 19, 2016 by NoPlaceLikeHome

[gardenmom5]

Colleges know which students are in greatest financial need so could they not distribute as well as make available care packs that include toiletries and menstrual products to these students? The contents of these care packs could be donated by by families who are better off for example. Our middle school /high school school does this for students in need.

 

My dds attended college on 'need-based' scholarship.  probably the two poorest students in their entire college during their time attending.  their college provides  A JOB for incidental expenses (tuition, books, housing, meals, etc were all covered) like - sanitary products.  they don't need to give them the actual items.

[rdj2027]

How did these students deal with this issue before they went to college?  Why wasn't the high school responsible for those items?

[itsheresomewhere]

They don't work for all, I could not use one till after I had kids, and I know several people who have tried them and found them messy to use. It isn't that those who don't like them have all just never tried.

Thank you for saying this.I always feel like I am the only one who can't use them.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

My dds attended college on 'need-based' scholarship.  probably the two poorest students in their entire college during their time attending.  their college provides  A JOB for incidental expenses (tuition, books, housing, meals, etc were all covered) like - sanitary products.  they don't need to give them the actual items.

Yes but this is assuming that everyone who wants a job will be able to get one and that every student is capable of juggling both classes and a job. Some students who make it to college are the first in their families and may even come from dire situations like homeless families. Then to top it off some of these students may have to spend all of their energy just trying to pass their college classes because they were not adequately prepared for college. In fact, I came from a functional family and was well prepared for college but I was grateful I did not have to work since college class work consumed most of my time. I would have found ti very difficult to juggle both classes and a job. Does that make me a slacker or a lesser person? I don't think so at all. I then went on and had a very successful and hard working career for almost 25 years.

 

I am not suggesting that colleges pay for these things. I am suggesting that colleges hold drives for families who are more able to donate toiletries and what not to help those students in need. Why is this such a bad idea? I scoffed a little when our school encouraged families who were able to donate toiletries and what not but then I realized that some families are really that poor or dysfunctional. I see it as a good thing to help others in need.

[gardenmom5]

Yes but this is assuming that everyone who wants a job will be able to get one and that every student is capable of juggling both classes and a job. 

 

they have a job through the school.  it's part of the scholarship package.  they're given a list of what jobs are available - then the students can apply to what interests them.  if absolutely nothing is open - they will find something for the scholarship students.  that's part of their aid package.

they work 10 hours -that's plenty for things like a  movie ticket or sanitary products.  and  a whole lot less time than sports demand.   (2d was in NCAA sports.  she quit because it took more time than school. she was there for an education.)

if a student can't handle a 10 hour job - they're not ready for college.  many of them  can easily spend far more time than that on extra-curriculars.    incidentally - when she graduated with her doc (different school. not on scholarship)  - she had half the debt of her peers because she'd learned how to handle money, and delay gratification.

[PineFarmMom]

I am not suggesting that colleges pay for these things. I am suggesting that colleges hold drives for families who are more able to donate toiletries and what not to help those students in need. Why is this such a bad idea? I scoffed a little when our school encouraged families who were able to donate toiletries and what not but then I realized that some families are really that poor or dysfunctional. I see it as a good thing to help others in need.

A drive is completely different. I have no issue giving or donating my money. Having it be something the college is required to provide means that I, as the one paying for the education have no choice in the matter of whether to pay for or not. It is forced into the cost of school.