College Students Demand Free Tampons

[wendy not in HI]

That is so exciting! Among some populations here, just talking about menstruation would be a real challenge. These are the same populations that do not generally have access to running water, let alone a washing machine. They must have some tips on how to approach this as well? 

 

This is a really cool project that could help many here as well, in any case. I'm going to email them. 

 

They do provide education and seem to have a lot of experience discussing menstruation in cultures where it is not talked about.  The whole campaign seems aimed at cultures that don't have running water.

 

I was just reading an article on the blog that talks about how it is a taboo topic in many cultures.  She talks about meeting a grandmother from Ecuador who says that women were to avoid avocado, limes, sour foods and pork during that time.  The grandmother asked "nothing bad happened when you ate an avocado?"  It was kind of sweet.  And sad.    http://www.daysforgirls.org/#!The-Shame-of-Menstruating-Menstrual-Hygiene-Day/c2g3/556743480cf24874176403b3

 

Here's some info from the Days for Girls website about education for girls when you distribute the kits:  

http://www.daysforgirls.org/#!tips-for-kit-distribution/cfmr

 

There's even a distribution handbook: http://media.wix.com/ugd/1150cf_b1e699b554ab44d79674fe8eff32e3c5.pdf

 

I'm sure you could contact them with specific questions about needs in your area.  

[TranquilMind]

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.

Why am I just hearing about these great tampons now, when I no longer need them?

 

I should have purchased stock in Playtex. And yeah, it was maybe 10 bucks a month, on a heavy month. They are wasting much more on pizza and for some, alcohol.

[DawnM]

$84 a year is very expensive when you're living hand-to-mouth... and I was actually not using "personal hygiene products" as a euphemism but was using it to include all such items, such as soap, laundry soap, shampoo, deodorant (not a "need", strictly speaking, but if you want your child to have friends its good to stock some), diapers, toothpaste, and pads/tampons. All this DOES add up, and women shouldn't be forced to reuse disposable diapers because they can't afford to buy new. (And yes, cloth diapers and cloth pads and menstrual cups do exist, but they're a very high upfront cost. This sort of thing is why it's always more expensive to be poor. Diapers and pads, in particular, may not even be an option if you don't have access to your own private washing machine. Many laundromats won't let you wash diapers in them. The laundromat is another expense, of course.)

 

I get the upfront cost being expensive, but it really is worth it.  $30 retail (often on sale) for a cup over a 10 year period (no pun intended) is .25 cents per month.  Spending $84 a year is $840 over that same time period.   Huge difference.  

 

But I agree with Tara, this really shouldn't be the first issue college students are concerned about.

[Bluegoat]

Gosh that's weird. Unless she really really needed them, but come on.

When I worked in a doctors office people stole a lot of weird things, like boxes of tissue, vaginal speculum a, whatever. A lot of public toilet paper dispensers have locks now.

 

Some people seem to have a hard time resisting taking things from institutions.

Edited March 17, 2016 by Bluegoat

[Cindy in FL.]

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.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Federal grants use income and family size, correct? I don't think that's changed since you were college aged.( since you said you got "almost no" grants) and you've claimed to be from a poor-ish family to a middle class one. I guess it depends on which one it really was.

 

Not sure what her situation was, but I was able to be considered independent and so my loan limits were higher.  But pretty much the only times they allow that is if you are married, have no parents (ward of the state, etc), or your parents have very bad credit making them not eligible to borrow any money.  Loan limits start out very low.  Much lower than what most schools charge.  So no grants, poor family, and low loan limits.  I still would like to know how someone pulls this off.  Although maybe schools elsewhere were less expensive.  I grew up in CT.  Everything was expensive.

[SparklyUnicorn]

When I worked in a doctors office people stole a lot of weird things, like boxes of tissue, vaginal speculum a, whatever. A lot of public toilet paper dispensers have locks now.

 

Some people seem to have a hard time resisting taking things from institutions.

 

Gosh that's crazy.  But yeah it seems some people just like the thrill of getting something for free.  But vaginal speculum?  I don't even want to know what they planned to do with that.  LOL

[SparklyUnicorn]

But again, how does one do this in a shared bathroom sink?  Shared with several people?  I don't want people seeing me wash my bloody pads.  Maybe I'm a big baby, but yeah gross. 

 

 

See now, that's the beauty of the training from Days for Girls.  Along with the cloth pads, they send a ziplock bag and a bar of soap.  The girls are taught to place their used pads in the ziplock.  Then, with just a little water and some of the soap, they are able to wash the pads in the ziplock bag.  Sounds terribly gross in America, but it really works.  

 

My mom's friend founded this group.  She had worked in an orphanage in Africa and really tried to think of a way to help these girls.  First, she asked her friends to send pads.  Yay for pads!  Pads mean freedom!! (I hadn't really thought of it before, but they really do mean freedom!)  Unfortunately, when you don't have a garbage service, pads mean hazardous waste dump all over your property.

 

So, she started making reusable pads, but the laundry situation is a little tricky, you are right.  But not tricky in a "oh my, I don't want to have to go in the bathroom and hand-wash a 3"x8" piece of fabric in the sink with running hot water" but in a "we don't have running water" way.  I'm sure rinsing out your bloody panties on the first day of your period in a shared sink where anyone could walk in, could also be embarrassing. Lots of embarrassing things happen in a shared bathroom where anyone could walk in.  I'm not saying this is a convenient or easy solution for all, but I am offering another solution that is working for other women.

 

If it truly is needed, I'm sure that college women can figure out how to hand wash their pads in the bathroom with running hot water.  Here is a quote from the website:

 

Q: How does she care for the kit if there is little water?

A: Great question. That is where the feedback has been so amazing. With the Ziplock baggie she can soak the liners with very little water, and that water can be gray water (already used for other washing, etc.) After soaking she can spill away the most colorful water in a latrine or appropriate location and then the kits can be easily washed as usual. Because of the tri-fold design, they rinse with very little water comparatively.

 

I understand that these are being used in the US in high poverty areas like inner city Chicago and reservations. Sounds like college campuses are next!  I think I will send their note to my mom, she will love it! Free pads are great.  But a sustainable way to care for yourself can bring freedom. Having lots of options is the best

 

eta - link to Days for Girls   http://www.daysforgirls.org/

 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I've been thinking about this all night and morning.  Two main things are bothering me - the entitlement attitude of the students and the plight of lower income women.  These are two different issues for me.

 

For the students - This issue bothers me.  Who's going to pay for this?  A general fee for all students isn't fair as the male portion of the student body has no need for these products.  Women would balk at a female only fee.  

 

I did find a way to dispense the products while reducing the chance of someone taking everything.  DH works for a large industry which provides things like sunscreen, bug repellent, poison ivy cream, gloves, etc.  These products used to be in a central cabinet and employees could take them as needed.  However, as is human nature, people would take it all, esp the good tick repellent and poison ivy medication.  These items are expensive to purchase and people would take every last bottle as soon as it was resupplied.  Some people would even sell the items in order to make money.  These are good paying jobs, way above minimum wage.  The employer tired of spending so much money on the supplies and installed a vending machine.  The employee now swipes an ID card and is allowed one product of each type per month.  The swipes track when and what was taken.  

Maybe installing these types of vending machines on college campuses would be beneficial.  It would allow for the availability of product but keep someone from taking advantage.  The machine could have tampons, pads, panty liners, condoms, dental dams, bandaids, wet wipes, whatever.  The students could swipe their id card and select whatever product was needed.  

 

Obviously, this does not address the more pressing issue of how to help lower income women.  I am going to purchase products today and run them over to the local food pantry.

[FaithManor]

Federal grants use income and family size, correct? I don't think that's changed since you were college aged.( since you said you got "almost no" grants) and you've claimed to be from a poor-ish family to a middle class one. I guess it depends on which one it really was.

Yes. And in proportion to the COL the income thresholds have shrunk so far fewer families qualify.

[Cindy in FL.]

I just looked online for this topic, and it seems like several colleges do provide hygiene products ( generic it seems) to female students. I think this is much more enlightenment rather than entitlements. Entitlement is basically just a buzzword today for those unhappy with the progressive nature of today's youth. Face it, lol,you're outnumbered, and they're smarter and kinder than you can imagine.

I fail to see how this is an enlightenment issue. Why is it enlightened to provide these items for women who are by and large capable of handling it themselves? Helping people avoid personal responsibility is not enlightened.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I have to say that I am really, really, really not seeing it with the cloth pads for poverty-stricken college students. I say this as a person who loves cloth pads and cups and all of that, and absolutely hates the waste of disposables.

 

Shared dorms and restrooms, iffy or too-busy laundry facilities, time-crunched schedules...I think this would all lead to hygiene problems in crowded spaces. We developed indoor plumbing and improved sanitation to reduce illness and disease. Hygiene matters. Also, privacy matters, so women don't find themselves shamed for publicly using methods that are seen as primitive. How quickly would it be seen as low-class to be washing out your glad rags in the dorm bathroom?

 

I don't want people using family cloth in shared bathroom situations, either.

 

Please don't call me ignorant about the benefits of cloth. I know them all. I could write an essay on the personal and environmental benefits of cloth. But I don't think it's the top choice for a "college students' feminine products relief" program. I think the ziplock bag and bar of soap works in some parts of the world because it's a big step UP from sitting on newspapers for a week, or having to wear bloody clothes. I think in an industrialized nation with improved sanitation, the ziplock bag, bar of soap, and sprinkle of water is a step DOWN and we can do better if we're going to take the responsibility of helping.

Edited March 17, 2016 by Tibbie Dunbar

[gardenmom5]

Did you read what SparklyUnicorn shared through the pages of this thread? I do not doubt that there are students who fall into the category you describe here, but there are also those who's situations are more like Sparkly's. I also recently read an article in which a journalist (locally where I live) interviewed homeless women in this city about how they cope with menstruation. It was not pretty. Is the idea that some people have an entitled attitude and want others to pay for their necessities while they otherwise live the high life a reason to ignore the real issue of women who cannot afford sanitary supplies — whether they are students, homeless, or in whatever other situation? 

 

This whole thread makes me want to organize the donation of menstrual cups to women who could benefit from them. I know they do not work well for everyone, but I personally love my cup and it has saved me so much money. They are easier to clean than reusable pads as well, and can last a very long time. 

 

this isn't about homeless women. (that's something else entirely)  this is about entitled college students making demands the school provided them with basics.

[FaithManor]

I have to say that I am really, really, really not seeing it with the cloth pads for poverty-stricken college students. I say this as a person who loves cloth pads and cups and all of that, and absolutely hates the waste of disposables.

 

Shared dorms and restrooms, laundry facilities, time-crunched schedules...I think this would all lead to hygiene problems in crowded spaces. We developed indoor plumbing and improved sanitation to reduce illness and disease. Hygiene matters. Also, privacy matters, so women don't find themselves shamed for publicly using methods that are seen as primitive. How quickly would it be seen as low-class to be washing out your glad rags in the dorm bathroom?

 

I don't want people using family cloth in shared bathroom situations, either.

 

Please don't call me ignorant about the benefits of cloth. I know them all. I could write an essay on the personal and environmental benefits of cloth. But I don't think it's the top choice for a "college students' feminine products relief" program. I think the ziplock bag and bar of soap works in some parts of the world because it's a big step UP from sitting on newspapers for a week, or having to wear bloody clothes. I think in an industrialized nation with improved sanitation, the ziplock bag, bar of soap, and sprinkle of water is a step DOWN and we can do better if we're going to take the responsibility of helping.

. :iagree:  :iagree:  :iagree:

[gardenmom5]

I also don't like the way in which the request was worded, but that doesn't take away from the fact that there are women who cannot afford these basics. That is a problem. SparklyUnicorn, in sharing her experience, wasn't being an entitled [bleep], nor did she write things like in the linked article, but she was indeed affected by problems like these. College students in the same position, wouldn't it be good if they could receive help with these basics? It would open a whole new future up to some of them. 

 

Just because someone phrases something very awkwardly doesn't mean that it isn't a societal problem worthy of looking at. 

 

we don't know that the students can't afford them.  it may be the way they spend money.

 

do they have a smart phone?

do they buy ice cream?

do they buy chocolate?

do they buy pizza?

do they buy lattes?

 

if yes to ANY of the above - they can afford them, they just don't want to rearrange their spending.

[wendy not in HI]

I have to say that I am really, really, really not seeing it with the cloth pads for poverty-stricken college students. I say this as a person who loves cloth pads and cups and all of that, and absolutely hates the waste of disposables.

 

Shared dorms and restrooms, iffy or too-busy laundry facilities, time-crunched schedules...I think this would all lead to hygiene problems in crowded spaces. We developed indoor plumbing and improved sanitation to reduce illness and disease. Hygiene matters. Also, privacy matters, so women don't find themselves shamed for publicly using methods that are seen as primitive. How quickly would it be seen as low-class to be washing out your glad rags in the dorm bathroom?

 

I don't want people using family cloth in shared bathroom situations, either.

 

Please don't call me ignorant about the benefits of cloth. I know them all. I could write an essay on the personal and environmental benefits of cloth. But I don't think it's the top choice for a "college students' feminine products relief" program. I think the ziplock bag and bar of soap works in some parts of the world because it's a big step UP from sitting on newspapers for a week, or having to wear bloody clothes. I think in an industrialized nation with improved sanitation, the ziplock bag, bar of soap, and sprinkle of water is a step DOWN and we can do better if we're going to take the responsibility of helping.

 

I'm the one who posted about the cloth pads.  I have never used cloth pads.  Or even cloth diapers.  I would agree that a large shared dorm bathroom is not the best place for cloth.  And college students are surely not the appropriate audience for Day for Girls.  BUT I love the message of empowering women to find solutions for their problems without an expectation that others will cure all of your problems for you.  I'm not suggesting shaming anyone by making them use primitive protection.  

 

I was a teen mom.  We were the poorest of poor college students.  We had no support from family. I'm not sure how we survived, and with costs even higher now 20 years later, I don't know how poor students do it.  I keep thinking how even the cost of a simple flip phone would have broken our budget.  We could not afford to live on campus. Never had a food plan. We lived in some pretty sketchy locations and rode bikes miles to get to campus.  Somehow we still managed to buy toilet paper and feminine supplies.

 

I don't know what the solution is for poor women on campus, and I think it's great that some schools are offering free supplies.  I just think that learning how to support yourself and care for your hygiene needs is an important aspect of college.  Maybe that means using a cup.  Maybe free pads.  Maybe budgeting.  I don't know. 

 

Sorry if I offended.  I just truly think that learning about the limitations placed on young women throughout the world can make us all (including college students who have to suffer through buying their own tampons) grateful for the abundance in our own lives.

[Lady Florida.]

Agreed. You should donate money, which they can use to purchase more food than you can, and you should also donate toiletries, which they often are precluded from buying with donated money. Even a small amount, like $5 and a box of tampons or laundry soap every month, adds up.

 

Some years back when I was a crazy couponer (before shows like Extreme Coupon ruined it for everyone by making stores change their policies), I used to get toiletries for next to nothing. Sometimes they were even free. I had more toothpaste, soap, shampoo, disposable razors, and shaving cream than our family of three would use in 10 years. I used to donate them to local food banks. There were several of us in our hs group who did this, and we'd take turns collecting the stuff from the others and dropping it off at various charity locations.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I don't know what the solution is for poor women on campus, and I think it's great that some schools are offering free supplies.  I just think that learning how to support yourself and care for your hygiene needs is an important aspect of college.  Maybe that means using a cup.  Maybe free pads.  Maybe budgeting.  I don't know. 

 

Sorry if I offended.  I just truly think that learning about the limitations placed on young women throughout the world can make us all (including college students who have to suffer through buying their own tampons) grateful for the abundance in our own lives.

 

I am so sorry if I sounded offended! Seriously, I'm very much not offended. I used cloth pads and cloth diapers to save money...I remember a parallel discussion over cloth diapers for families in a homeless shelter; if I recall, I came down with a similar opinion then. That on a personal level, cloth is an empowering alternative for a woman at home (meaning, having access to her own facilities) but more likely a problem for women living in group settings.

 

I agree very much with the bolded, and with your belief that learning about the history and the global aspect of menstruation is very important.

 

[Dmmetler]

What I did as a school music teacher was just to stock supplies in a drawer in my room. So did the school counselor, PE teacher, and a few others. When the girls had their little talk, they were informed where extra supplies were kept, and that they could slip in, get what they needed, and slip out. Only a handful of girls did-and some of them did take extras that I suspect were taken home for family members, but it was there. (The school counselor purchased for the school-we were a school that served a low income population, and there was funding to do things like wash clothes at school for kids who needed it, and part of those funds purchased pads-the same kind normally used in vending machines, which were individually packaged (and not awesome quality, so I'd sometime supplement if I found a BOGO or good sale on something better).

 

I would think that something similar could be set up at Health Services and maybe things like hall director's offices and other manned settings on a college campus (maybe one drop spot per building). That would probably avoid a lot of the theft problems if someone was physically there, while still being accessible to the person who needs supplies now, whether it was because of an unexpected breakthrough or due to finances being tight.

 

Heck, as a female faculty member, there have been times that I could have used knowing where a stock was kept in the building myself, because I didn't have time to run out and buy more right then, but my personal supply was dangerously low.

[Stellalarella]

After giving birth to my fourth child, I asked for tylenol.  It was the weekend.  I was told that they were out at the nurses station because the nurses had used it all for themselves and they couldn't get more because it was the weekend.  

 

All that to say, that when there is a supply of something, people take it thoughtlessly.  That's what people do.  It's free, it must be for me.

[Murphy101]

Right. So how is this going to work in a college setting exactly? We had a community bathroom shared by oh probably 30 women. The thought of rinsing bloody pads in the shared community sinks while anyone could walk in and out is pretty darn gross.

 

And then laundry I got to once a week. So in the meantime where do I keep bloody stinky pads in a shared dorm room? And what do you wash these pads with? Meaning do I dump this in with my regular laundry? If not, then now this adds to the laundry cost since you pay per load.

You keep either a one gallon ziplock or some other small water/smell proof container to store used ones in until it's time to clean them. This way it doesn't smell or get seen by everyone unless they go looking for it.

 

Then you wash them separately. Either in the wash by themselves or with your other bleachable laundry. Or you could wash them in the dorm sink each night. I'm sure more than one gal has had to do the same with a pair of undies or pants when leaks happen.

 

It is very cheap and really not that hard to do. It's what millions of women all over the world have to do.

 

Being able to use disposable pads and diapers is a HUGE luxurious privilege most of the world can't afford.

[Tsuga]

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

 

Most people in Asia survive their whole lives without toilet paper in the restrooms.

 

I think that this isn't about money but providing basic hygienic supplies in toilets. Most people who are in college can afford sanitary napkins! If you can't then you need to get your life in order first then go to college.

 

Nothing is really "free" and I think that the way this is phrased is to imply that people want something for nothing. That's not the case. My understanding is that this is about having a full range of sanitary provisions in the restroom. Not like, getting a tampon welfare handout delivered to your door.

 

We all get LOTS of "free" things in public restrooms: soap, hot water, running water in the toilet, privacy. None of that is a given in many places, but we do it because we recognize that clean and healthy people are safer for the rest of us. We value productivity as well.

 

I do agree that lots of people will take things if they are free, but there are ways to make it hard to steal (think of how we set up toilet paper). If you create the right dispenser, so that it is not possible to get a bunch at once but instead, or so that it comes out without a wrapper, so it's no longer sterile once it comes out (you have to use right away) then that's one way to do it.

[Tanaqui]

Or gets TSS. You KNOW legal action is inevitable somewhere!

 

No, we don't really know anything of the sort. If this were the case, those schools would be sued every time somebody's condom broke... but they're not.

 

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

 

 

 

Again with the

 

If you are too poor and bleed monthly, it sucks to be you. You need to stop being poor, or stop bleeding monthly to further your education.

 

 

Ugh.

 

 

Supply basic menstrual products. Periods aren't optional. Menstrual products aren't one size fits all, so provide a variety. If they are so cheap women should be able to afford them, then they are cheap enough for the university to supply.

 

Geeze.

[Guest]

Again with the

 

If you are too poor and bleed monthly, it sucks to be you. You need to stop being poor, or stop bleeding monthly to further your education.

 

 

 

Geeze.

I see no one saying that??

[Bluegoat]

My point is that we DO know that SOME college students can't afford them. That is a problem. I am not suggesting that free sanitary products are handed out to everyone indiscriminately, but that those who cannot afford them should be able to get them somewhere for free. Or rather, it would be awesome if they could. Again, did you see Sparkly's posts? It was obviously no to all of the above for her. That really sucks.

I think though that is what was being demanded from the college. Toiletries of all inds are a problem for the poor but asking the college to provide them for students and non-students seems an odd solution to me.

 

With some products it makes spence to help people provide what they need more specifically.

 

It reminds me when I was first in the army, they redesigned the issued underwear and decided to add a bra. They did huge surveys to help them get the right design. In the end they realized that there was no good generic design, so instead soldiers could submit receipts for commercial purchases.

 

With a lot of more personal products people generally want to make their own choices. Student aid being adaquate is really what is required for students to buy hygiene products.

[Tanaqui]

Not quoting, because I'd have to search for it, but regarding the comment that they phrased it really badly and rudely and whatever:

 

So what? They're in college, and it is likely that most of them - or even all of them - are still quite young. Which means they're still learning how to best express themselves to get the results they want. Somebody alluded to the book "how to win friends and influence people", and you know why we have a book on this subject? Because this sort of thing is hard!

 

It takes years of practice and experience to know the best way to make requests so people listen (and no, "if you please, could you kindly" is not always the best option either). Why are we surprised that a bunch of college kids are still bad at it? They're in college to learn, anyway.

[Tanaqui]

I see no one saying that??

 

Really? Because when you add up all the "if you couldn't afford pads, you should have gone to a cheaper college" and the "personal responsibility, yo" and the "how dare they demand things, nobody is that poor" comments, that's the sentiment I smell.

 

[JadeOrchidSong]

I bought several reusable cloth pads. At the end of each day, I handwash them and let them dry naturally. I carry one or two in my purse at all times.

If a person is really poor, she can buy these and do it this way. She will never need to spend any more money than the initial $27, or at most less than $80. They are good for many years. A cup is good, too.

 

Where I came from, no toilet paper is provided anywhere, let alone tampons. If you forget toilet paper, you can always buy some at the bathroom entrance. People are doing just fine. No one expect free toilet paper. There are millions and millions of poor people, more than in this country.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

Really? Because when you add up all the "if you couldn't afford pads, you should have gone to a cheaper college" and the "personal responsibility, yo" and the "how dare they demand things, nobody is that poor" comments, that's the sentiment I smell.

 

Exactly, that's why I didn't bother to quote them all.

[vonfirmath]

 If they are so cheap women should be able to afford them, then they are cheap enough for the university to supply.

 

Geeze.

 

Note: The cost of the university supplying is NOT equal to The cost of supplying for yourself.

 

For the university to supply, they need to pay not only the cost of the supplies, but of a place to put the supplies in each bathroom. (And if you are concerned about stealing, it needs to be secured in some way/ability to get mass amounts of supplies at once be limited). And then they need to pay the labor time for someone to keep them all supplied and make sure they do not run out. As well as all the people who deal with the purchase order for ordering supplies and justifying ordering supplies and how much is ordered/etc.

 

[Tanaqui]

If a person is really poor, she can buy these and do it this way. She will never need to spend any more money than the initial $27, or at most less than $80. They are good for many years. A cup is good, too.

 

That initial startup cost is a barrier to people who have to budget carefully to buy toothpaste or pads right now. This is like advising people to buy rice 50 pounds of rice at a time. Sure, it's cheaper in the long run, but in the short run you need to have cash in hand for 50 pounds of rice!

 

[Tanaqui]

For the university to supply, they need to pay not only the cost of the supplies, but of a place to put the supplies in each bathroom. (And if you are concerned about stealing, it needs to be secured in some way/ability to get mass amounts of supplies at once be limited). And then they need to pay the labor time for someone to keep them all supplied and make sure they do not run out. As well as all the people who deal with the purchase order for ordering supplies and justifying ordering supplies and how much is ordered/etc.

 

Cost of supplies: The university can buy supplies in bulk, though, which individual women can't (forget 50 pounds of rice, this is the equivalent of buying 250 pounds at a time), so in the end the cost is  less than it would be for each woman to buy individually.

 

Place to put supplies: This is a one-time cost, akin to the paper towel dispensers.

 

Labor time: Whoever normally checks that the bathrooms are stocked adds, what, five seconds per bathroom to make sure the menstrual supplies are stocked as well? If the bathrooms already have pad and tampon dispensers, just the sort you pay for, then we don't even add any time to the daily checklist. Likewise for the person who handles ordering supplies.

 

Exactly, that's why I didn't bother to quote them all.

 

And don't forget "anybody who ever has anything fun, or nice, or unnecessary is not really poor after all". Sure, you can live your life on gruel, but no matter how poor you are, you shouldn't have to. Not in a civilized society.

Edited March 17, 2016 by Tanaqui

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

Note: The cost of the university supplying is NOT equal to The cost of supplying for yourself.

 

For the university to supply, they need to pay not only the cost of the supplies, but of a place to put the supplies in each bathroom. (And if you are concerned about stealing, it needs to be secured in some way/ability to get mass amounts of supplies at once be limited). And then they need to pay the labor time for someone to keep them all supplied and make sure they do not run out. As well as all the people who deal with the purchase order for ordering supplies and justifying ordering supplies and how much is ordered/etc.

How inconvenient that would be.

 

I guess forgoing education is a better plan after all.

[FaithManor]

Again with the

 

If you are too poor and bleed monthly, it sucks to be you. You need to stop being poor, or stop bleeding monthly to further your education.

 

 

Ugh.

 

 

Supply basic menstrual products. Periods aren't optional. Menstrual products aren't one size fits all, so provide a variety. If they are so cheap women should be able to afford them, then they are cheap enough for the university to supply.

 

Geeze.

Okay just wow!

 

The general sentiment has not been "it sucks to be you stop being poor" but that providing it through the college is the least efficient, least appropriate way to solve the problem which by the way exists for poor women who don't go to college so why should only college girls get free feminine hygiene products??? Seriously, only college women's needs count? It isn't a college problem it is a community wide cultural problem that requires a bigger solution than eeryone else on campus paying more fees in order top provide it because nothing is free and it will get passed on and at greater % than it actually costs because that is how it is in college world. Society at large needs to tackle this, not some individual university.

[Bluegoat]

Really? Because when you add up all the "if you couldn't afford pads, you should have gone to a cheaper college" and the "personal responsibility, yo" and the "how dare they demand things, nobody is that poor" comments, that's the sentiment I smell.

 

I don't think that is what people mean at all.

 

If someone cannot afford tampons there are in serious financial straits and tampons are not the only issue. The college providing them is not going to solve the problem they are really on the edge and are probably doing things like using food banks and other services.

 

I think university should be free to those who qualify and a living allowance which includes funds for personal products needs to be in some way part of that. I am not somehow being cheap or lacking fellow feeling. But realistically in a system where someone will be going to have to go without basic necessities, I would advise them to consider other options. It might be they could get by with paching together services, using soup kitchens, and such. I would not likely encourage that as a plan though.

 

But I don't see why I would then want the university to be providing poverty services. There is no reason to think they are best funded by the same models or will require the same expertise to distribute well.

 

It's a supremely poorly thought out set of ideas. Encouraging poor women from outside the university to come into the buildings to get free menstrual products? It's just a silly plan, even for 18 year olds.

[Tanaqui]

Society at large needs to tackle this, not some individual university.

 

I quite agree. However, I'm not sure why you think that there are no comments saying that poor women need to just pull some tampons out of their bootstraps, because there most assuredly are. Plenty of people seem to think that this is purely an individual problem that society at large shouldn't care about, or should only care about on a personal, charitable level.

 

[JumpyTheFrog]

After giving birth to my fourth child, I asked for tylenol.  

All that to say, that when there is a supply of something, people take it thoughtlessly.  That's what people do.  It's free, it must be for me.

In Dan Ariely's book "The Honest Truth About Dishonesty" he shared a letter he receieved from a reader. The reader kept having people some into his office or cubicle and steal his stapler. He got tired of buying new staplers, so he finally glued a quarter to it and the theft stopped. People didn't see themselves as thieves when taking office supplies, but as soon as money was involved it became harder for others to rationalize that taking the stapler "wasn't really" stealing.

 

The whole book was fascinating. It seems that most people will lie and cheat a little when they can get away with it. Most of them will do it a little - enough to gain some benefit for themselves while still allowing themselves to think of themselves as honest people. The farther removed from physical money, the more likely they are to cheat. For example, in experiments where participants had to pay themselves from a bowl of money, there was a certain amount of cheating. That was the control group. In the experimental group, participants took tokens from a bowl and walked to a table at the other end of the room where they gave the tokens to someone to get paid. There mere act of changing the money for tokens that would be exchanged for money led to a big increase of cheating.

[SparklyUnicorn]

You keep either a one gallon ziplock or some other small water/smell proof container to store used ones in until it's time to clean them. This way it doesn't smell or get seen by everyone unless they go looking for it.

 

Then you wash them separately. Either in the wash by themselves or with your other bleachable laundry. Or you could wash them in the dorm sink each night. I'm sure more than one gal has had to do the same with a pair of undies or pants when leaks happen.

 

It is very cheap and really not that hard to do. It's what millions of women all over the world have to do.

 

Being able to use disposable pads and diapers is a HUGE luxurious privilege most of the world can't afford.

 

Separate load...more expensive.  Community laundry facilities everyone looking at me dumping my bloody pads into the washer.  No thank you. 

 

In my own home...less of an issue. 

 

Call that "privilege" if you like.  I don't buy it.  If everyone is doing this then nobody is gacked out about it.  If not, I'm the disgusting chick with the smelly bloody pads on laundry day. 

[Cindy in FL.]

Really? Because when you add up all the "if you couldn't afford pads, you should have gone to a cheaper college" and the "personal responsibility, yo" and the "how dare they demand things, nobody is that poor" comments, that's the sentiment I smell.

 

They aren't demanding it because they are poor. They seem to think they have the right to free stuff simply because they menstruate.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Oh and not to mention if you don't clean blood right away it never comes out.  NEVER.  BTDT 100,000 times. 

 

So nice.  Pads that are pre bloodied.  How fun. 

[Cindy in FL.]

The dreaded dp. Sorry!

Edited March 17, 2016 by Cindy in FL.

[SparklyUnicorn]

They aren't demanding it because they are poor. They seem to think they have the right to free stuff simply because they menstruate.

 

So if they urinate are they being demanding by expecting toilet paper?  I mean why not carry cloths and then bag them? 

[Stellalarella]

I don't feel like I need to provide a solution to a young woman who is demanding sani products for all for free because she is afraid she might at some point in the future accidentally be found without sanitary products and feels like it is her right to have them. 

 

I feel like that woman needs counseling at most and at best she should be politely ignored.  Let us all forgive her for such asinine statements and hope that as the years go by she will mature into a woman who can take care of herself and her family. 

 

When asked by someone who was in need of tampons (either because of poverty or because they really were having an emergency) I gave them tampons.  Just like any of you would.

 

 

 

 

[Tanaqui]

They aren't demanding it because they are poor. They seem to think they have the right to free stuff simply because they menstruate.

 

I don't think that feeling you have a "right to free stuff" is a character flaw. So repeating yourself on this issue isn't going to convince me.

 

[vonfirmath]

I don't think that feeling you have a "right to free stuff" is a character flaw. So repeating yourself on this issue isn't going to convince me

 

Just as your repeating that you think there is a right to free stuff (Or at least that it isn't a character flaw to believe in a right to free stuff) isn't going to convince others.

 

It's an impasse.

Edited March 17, 2016 by vonfirmath

[SparklyUnicorn]

Granted this feels different than expecting toilet paper, but when you put it into the same wording it's really not much different EXCEPT only women have this issue.  So like I said above, is it being demanding to expect toilet paper?  Couldn't we expect that people carry reusable cloths or rolls of toilet paper?  What's the difference? 

[Cindy in FL.]

So if they urinate are they being demanding by expecting toilet paper? I mean why not carry cloths and then bag them?

Really? I guess we need to supply diapers (cloth and disposable), wipes, contact solution, deodorant, razors, etc. Toilet paper and paper towels are in a different category. Actually, I've used both in an emergency when menstruating. What I haven't done is expect someone else to take care of my personal hygiene.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Really? I guess we need to supply diapers (cloth and disposable), wipes, contact solution, deodorant, razors, etc. Toilet paper and paper towels are in a different category. Actually, I've used both in an emergency when menstruating. What I haven't done is expect someone else to take care of my personal hygiene.

 

What do you mean really? How is this different? 

 

I don't think your examples are quite the same.  I guess it comes down to..is toilet paper a basic need?  If not, why are we providing it?  If it is, why don't feminine hygiene products not fall into the same category?  Is it because men don't use them too?

 

Razors...nice to have, but not shaving your legs is not up there with bloodying your pants.

[Cindy in FL.]

I don't think that feeling you have a "right to free stuff" is a character flaw. So repeating yourself on this issue isn't going to convince me.

We will have to disagree then. I don't see how demanding free stuff from people not responsible for taking care of your personal needs is indicative of good character.