College Students Demand Free Tampons

[ktgrok]

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.

 

Well then stop using the toilet paper at the library, public places, etc. Because you know, it's not indicative of good character to expect others to give you free stuff to take care of your personal needs. Better not use the soap when you wash your hands either...not without paying for it. And same with the paper towels. 

[Cindy in FL.]

Well then stop using the toilet paper at the library, public places, etc. Because you know, it's not indicative of good character to expect others to give you free stuff to take care of your personal needs. Better not use the soap when you wash your hands either...not without paying for it. And same with the paper towels.

will do.

Edited March 17, 2016 by Cindy in FL.

[gardenmom5]

was just talking to a friend -

 

HERE is a student expense that should be eliminated. 

 

her son has to buy an overpriced asb card - that INCLUDES the cost of admission to football and basketball games.  those should be extra.  many students aren't interested - or only go to a couple games. that would save student dollars.

[gardenmom5]

Well then stop using the toilet paper at the library, public places, etc. Because you know, it's not indicative of good character to expect others to give you free stuff to take care of your personal needs. Better not use the soap when you wash your hands either...not without paying for it. And same with the paper towels. 

that's not free -my taxes pay for the library.  my taxes pay for the bathrooms/porta-potties at the parks too.

Edited March 17, 2016 by gardenmom5

[ktgrok]

The boxes of pads are not free. The cost will go to either taxpayers or student tuition. Nothing is free. If it is free, it means someone else has to pay for it.

 

Street lamps, roads, parks, and toilet paper are not free. They are paid by your tax dollars. They maybe free to you if you don't have income and don't pay any tax, but they are paid by other people for you in that case.

 

Right, and the tampons/pads would be in the same category. Your tuition/fees would pay for them. Or wherever the toilet paper and hand soap budget comes from. 

[ktgrok]

that's not free -my taxes pay for the library.  my taxes pay for the bathrooms/porta-potties at the parks too.

 

 

NOTHING is free. Everyone knows that. But why is it fine for taxes to pay for the water, soap, toilet paper, and paper towels, but  a sign of the degeneration of our youth to also have taxes pay for sanitary pads? Why is toilet paper fine, but tampons are an abomination? I've seen no one here questioning my character for using any of the other things, but its a sign of entitlement to use a free tampon while in the free bathroom using the free toilet paper then washing your hands with the free water and soap and drying them on the free paper towel. That makes no sense. 

[SKL]

I think there is a business opportunity for anyone who can design an affordable, reliable pad / tampon dispenser that dispenses free products but prevents theft of bulk amounts.

 

I don't mind a reasonable amount of money spent on complimentary products, but the theft/vandalism issue is real.

 

People do steal toilet paper too, but inventions have been developed to reduce that.  (One of them being, to stock the nastiest toilet paper so that hardly anyone would want to use it at home.)

[ktgrok]

I think there is a business opportunity for anyone who can design an affordable, reliable pad / tampon dispenser that dispenses free products but prevents theft of bulk amounts.

 

I don't mind a reasonable amount of money spent on complimentary products, but the theft/vandalism issue is real.

 

People do steal toilet paper too, but inventions have been developed to reduce that.  (One of them being, to stock the nastiest toilet paper so that hardly anyone would want to use it at home.)

 

It could be like the coupon dispenser at my grocery store. IT only spits out one every so many seconds/minutes. So unless you stand there, obviously hoarding coupons in front of everyone, you just get one or two. 

[Haiku]

Many business and schools do, in fact, provide complimentary snacks, ranging from bags of chips to whole fruit.

 

Perhaps, but I doubt many people would applaud if students banded together and demanded this as a right rather than appreciated it as a perk.

[SKL]

NOTHING is free. Everyone knows that. But why is it fine for taxes to pay for the water, soap, toilet paper, and paper towels, but  a sign of the degeneration of our youth to also have taxes pay for sanitary pads? Why is toilet paper fine, but tampons are an abomination? I've seen no one here questioning my character for using any of the other things, but its a sign of entitlement to use a free tampon while in the free bathroom using the free toilet paper then washing your hands with the free water and soap and drying them on the free paper towel. That makes no sense. 

 

Well, I will note that there are people who consider tampons to be borderline immoral, especially for virgins (or females who "should be" virgins).  Some cultures believe that using tampons makes you not a virgin, or that you can't use them if you are a virgin.  I assume pads don't have that particular concern.

 

Again, I don't have a problem with a business deciding to include various products in the bathroom.  It is the attitude that the university is at fault for not preventing menstrual accidents that I can't accept.  These are adults.

 

My kids are 9yo and approaching menarche.  I have told them that if it happens at school, they should go to the nurse and the nurse will help them.  OK, my kids are 9.  But soon I will begin teaching them how to deal with this biological function which will become a normal part of their lives for the next ~40 years.  This is my responsibility, and when appropriate it will be theirs.  It is never going to be the responsibility of their university, their employer, or whatever store they decide to shop in.  I mean, that was a creative argument, Miss Columbia, but no.  Try again.

[TechWife]

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

Disadvantaged people who are in college do have their life in order. Generally speaking, that's why they are there.

[Haiku]

If that's the case, then surely fees wouldn't increase all that much if colleges provided them without an additional charge.

 

But how many things, which when taken singularly wouldn't much affect the bottom line, is the university obligated to provide, and, in doing so, how much would the sum of these thing affect the bottom line?

[SKL]

It could be like the coupon dispenser at my grocery store. IT only spits out one every so many seconds/minutes. So unless you stand there, obviously hoarding coupons in front of everyone, you just get one or two. 

 

I have been in bathrooms where the dispenser returns the coin to you as well as your pad.  You feel like you're getting an unintended freebie, so you don't keep trying it over and over.  Or maybe some people would.  :P  Of course that only works if you have a coin.

 

[Haiku]

Then again one is allowed to borrow money and get grants that can be applied to the on campus food plans. 

 

But my extremely expensive meal plan card is all the way across campus in my dorm room. I want free food right here, right now, where I want it this instant.

 

(This is a direct reference to a quote in the original article.)

[SparklyUnicorn]

Carrying flushable tissue is a good idea, because you never know....

 

Cloth diaper / wipey users do put the used ones in a bag and bring them home and wash them.  Cloth pad users do the same when they need to change.  People used to do it with cloth hankies.  Heck, paper products are all pretty recent in history.  No, I do not want to carry around poopy cloths, I appreciate having toilet paper when I need it most of the time.  But then again, I am used to the idea that toilet paper in public bathrooms is of varying quality.  Most of it is really poor.  Do we really want institutions to decide the type and quality of our pads and tampons?  Wouldn't it be better to have a targeted way of providing them to people who need this assistance, while assuming that most people are cool with buying their own?

 

I appreciate these things too.  My point was directed at the idea we should talk poor students into using washable pads.  I think a lot of us would not want to walk into the community bathroom and see someone rinsing out bloody pads (these are also the sinks we wash our hands in and brush our teeth in when located in many college dorms).  Nor would it be very comfortable to have to open up a bag filled with bloody pads to put them in a wash machine in the community laundry facilities.  If this were the norm, fine.  If this is done in one's home, that's also a different situation. 

 

When people say well this used to be such and such way or people far away over there do it that's not much of an argument.  I bet there are things we do they'd find pretty appalling as well because it's not something they are used to.

[Murphy101]

So why have food stamps? It's not my damn problem if other people are too incompetent to figure out how to get food and take care of their personal need.

 

Several people, including me, have said they would support sanitary needs being added to govt assistance programs. And to charities.

 

What this college thing is advocating for is basicly being able to walk into an institution and demand they give stuff *to specific indidivudals* for free, which we all know is never really free.

 

That's no more okay than someone knocking on my front door and demanding I give them what I have.

 

I might or might not still give it, but they do not have a right to it.

 

I also don't think those women actually care about the plight of poor women, just themselves.

 

Otherwise, they would hopefully see there are ways that would help more women more efficiently. Several of which have already been discussed in this thread.

[SparklyUnicorn]

But my extremely expensive meal plan card is all the way across campus in my dorm room. I want free food right here, right now, where I want it this instant.

 

(This is a direct reference to a quote in the original article.)

 

They had many locations on campus and even off campus one could get food where I went (that were all included in the meal plan).  My dorm in particular was the furthest from the main campus.  In good weather one could cut across the athletic fields making the walk doable.  In the dead of winter one would have to walk about 5 miles to the cafeteria.  So they delivered a large tray of donuts and some coffee to our dorm for breakfast.  You could of course opt to get yourself to the cafeteria, but with schedules the way they were that was sometimes difficult. 

 

Maybe she didn't do the best making her case, but the general gist of why are some necessities provided and assumed, while others are not isn't a terrible one.  I think it's a very interesting question. 

[SKL]

I wonder whether there are young women on campus who do use cloth pads by choice.  How do they handle it?  Or do they all just switch to disposable until they live off campus?

 

In the dorm where I lived, the only running water was the shower or the (not-private) hand-washing sinks.  Maybe you could fill up some basins and go wash them in your room, but I don't know ... it sounds pretty complicated.  I can't think of any place on campus where a woman could have running water and privacy at the same time.

[FaithManor]

was just talking to a friend -

 

HERE is a student expense that should be eliminated. 

 

her son has to buy an overpriced asb card - that INCLUDES the cost of admission to football and basketball games.  those should be extra.  many students aren't interested - or only go to a couple games. that would save student dollars.

I agree. My kids are not interested in the sporting events. However the activity fee is ridiculous and required. We can't opt out. So they end up funding the sports teams by default, yet they still have to pay $5.00 each to get into music and art exhibits which allows the sports teams and the rest of campus to NOT fund the things they are interested in which chaps my hide.

 

One of my beefs as we pay college expenses. GRRRRR

[SparklyUnicorn]

And some people have heavy periods.  If I need 5 or more pads a day we are talking 30-35 of these bloody pads.  This isn't just one little ole pad.

 

 

[ktgrok]

Okay, some are saying the issue is they are demanding it, rather than appreciating it. So lets say there was a building on campus that was always out of toilet paper. Like, at least once a week you were in there and there was none. would it be entitlement to ask they stock that building more frequently?

[SparklyUnicorn]

Okay, some are saying the issue is they are demanding it, rather than appreciating it. So lets say there was a building on campus that was always out of toilet paper. Like, at least once a week you were in there and there was none. would it be entitlement to ask they stock that building more frequently?

 

Some people here will chime in and claim otherwise.  I'm pretty sure many people would not be happy about it and would ask what the heck is up. 

[Murphy101]

As far as the washing pads in public washrooms - I think it is different for us than for many people in developing nations. The social norms around privacy and hygeine are already going to be different in those circumstances.

Yes and I'm not sure that's a good thing either. In many ways, I think the gross functions of the body are treated with just as much taboo and disgust as in countries of extreme poverty. We do it differently, but the underlying attitude is still there.

 

In the plus side, because of that, I think many posters might be behind the times on dorm life. In sons state university dorms, even the cheapest ones have a private toilet and sink in the dorm room. Granted I half joke that if you weight over 120lb I'm not sure how you can squeeze between the door and sink to the toilet, but they do have it. The showers are more traditional dorm like. And their dorms have two rooms that open into a little entry way are with their bathroom to one side and the front door to their dorms on the other. This way the dorm cleaning service (yes, unless you get a campus apartment, all dorms have maid service for all areas except the actual bedroom.) can come in and clean the bathroom without entering their bedrooms. It's like one of those tiny homes dorm style.

 

With so many American children being raised having never had to share a bedroom or bathroom, students going off to college weren't wanting to do so there either. So colleges have adjusted a lot from what I think we remember from olden days. It's still not fancy and it is still cramped, but they do have any itty bit more privacy I think.

Edited March 17, 2016 by Murphy101

[Haiku]

I think it's a very interesting question. 

 

It is a very interesting question, I agree. 

 

I'm generally very much on the side of doing what we can to make sure those in need get what they need, but I am not on the side of rude demands for blanket "solutions" that address things that are generally not a problem (merely an inconvenience) for most people.

 

I very much support assisting low-income women in accessing menstrual products in a dignified way. I very much do not support screaming, preachy college students blaming other people for being inconvenienced by their own lack of preparedness. I see these things as very different.

 

And the tone-deaf way people often go about these things turns people off even to those who have legitimate need. It's a shame. 

 

The majority of college women don't need free menstrual products. For them it's a perk, not a necessity, so demanding perks under the auspices of them being necessities is not cool. Let's devote our collective effort to meeting people's legitimate needs.

[Haiku]

I wonder whether there are young women on campus who do use cloth pads by choice.  How do they handle it?  Or do they all just switch to disposable until they live off campus?

 

In the dorm where I lived, the only running water was the shower or the (not-private) hand-washing sinks.  Maybe you could fill up some basins and go wash them in your room, but I don't know ... it sounds pretty complicated.  I can't think of any place on campus where a woman could have running water and privacy at the same time.

 

I do not want to brush my teeth in a sink someone just used to wash their bloody menstrual pads in. Yuck.

[mom2scouts]

Well then stop using the toilet paper at the library, public places, etc. Because you know, it's not indicative of good character to expect others to give you free stuff to take care of your personal needs. Better not use the soap when you wash your hands either...not without paying for it. And same with the paper towels. 

 

I don't know about you, but we recently passed a pretty hefty levy for our public library. The benefit I get from my library, whether books or toilet paper, it NOT free. The amount shows up on my property tax bill twice a year. I assume that businesses also factor in the cost of maintaining a bathroom and includes it in the cost of the products.

[Haiku]

Okay, some are saying the issue is they are demanding it, rather than appreciating it. So lets say there was a building on campus that was always out of toilet paper. Like, at least once a week you were in there and there was none. would it be entitlement to ask they stock that building more frequently?

 

I already mentioned this upthread. Everyone uses the bathroom multiple times a day. It's not something people do only a few days a month that can be fairly regularly anticipated. If people only used the bathroom at fairly infrequent, predictable times, I would say it's their job to plan their schedule around their toileting needs and not expect the provision of public bathrooms. 

 

There are laws about the provision of toilets (public or otherwise) for sanitation reasons.

[SparklyUnicorn]

It is a very interesting question, I agree. 

 

I'm generally very much on the side of doing what we can to make sure those in need get what they need, but I am not on the side of rude demands for blanket "solutions" that address things that are generally not a problem (merely an inconvenience) for most people.

 

I very much support assisting low-income women in accessing menstrual products in a dignified way. I very much do not support screaming, preachy college students blaming other people for being inconvenienced by their own lack of preparedness. I see these things as very different.

 

And the tone-deaf way people often go about these things turns people off even to those who have legitimate need. It's a shame. 

 

The majority of college women don't need free menstrual products. For them it's a perk, not a necessity, so demanding perks under the auspices of them being necessities is not cool. Let's devote our collective effort to meeting people's legitimate needs.

 

My immediate gut reaction to this whole discussion was are you kidding me?  But the more I thought about it and compared it to toilet paper, which IMO is a very very similar need, the more I thought hey this girl might be onto something. 

 

I was trying to remember if they sold tampons/pads at all on campus when  I went.  I honestly do not recall anything but those machines.  You weren't allowed to have a car for the first two years (lack of parking).  They had a bookstore, but they didn't have much there.  So gee it's possible that that was something one had to rely on their parents for.  I really did not like living on campus.  I felt like I had more freedom and a better gig at home.  Granted my parents were hard to live with, but I didn't have to wonder about how I was going to get to a store.  There were stores around at least. 

 

[Murphy101]

I do not want to brush my teeth in a sink someone just used to wash their bloody menstrual pads in. Yuck.

Um. What are you doing to your toothbrush?! 😠My toothbrush and my mouth never touches the sink when I'm brushing.

 

Though really I fail to see how it is any different than trying to deal with undies or pants when leaks happen. This is a fairly common female malady in life. Lots of women wash their delicates in the sink.

 

Or get bloody noses (I have two kids that get spontaneous bloody noses for no reason at all.) or wash their hands after a messy period pads/tampon change, or any restroom use one hopes or any number of things. Bathrooms in general are not used for pretty activities.

 

Now if the roommate left a bathroom mess, I'd be livid no matter why bc sanitation in America is pretty dang easy to manage so clean up the mess and sanitize when done. THAT would be my issue.

[ktgrok]

I don't know about you, but we recently passed a pretty hefty levy for our public library. The benefit I get from my library, whether books or toilet paper, it NOT free. The amount shows up on my property tax bill twice a year. I assume that businesses also factor in the cost of maintaining a bathroom and includes it in the cost of the products.

 

And the tampons/pads would be different how? I'm assuming the students wanting tampon dispensers on the bathroom know they don't actually materialize free of cost, anymore than the toilet paper and soap do. So however those are paid for is how the tampons would be paid for. How is it different for them to use your taxes for toilet paper and soap versus pads?

[SKL]

To answer the questions of several people:  yes, I do think that expecting toilet paper in public bathrooms is "entitlement."  True, we have gotten so used to it that we forgot that there is no moral basis to call it a "right."  Some people would throw a tantrum if the toilet paper ran out - especially since people have learned not to bring their own supplies because they generally don't need to.

 

That said, perhaps Miss Columbia should do some research on how it came to be that US establishments nearly always provide toilet paper.  That should be an interesting history for her.  Then she can apply some of the concepts to her own crusade.

 

Somehow I doubt that movement got started when some adult declared, "I am in difficulty because the Owners / Managers should have known I would fail to plan for my predictable bodily functions."

[SparklyUnicorn]

Um. What are you doing to your toothbrush?! 😠My toothbrush and my mouth never touches the sink when I'm brushing.

 

Though really I fail to see how it is any different than trying to deal with undies or pants when leaks happen. This is a fairly common female malady in life. Lots of women wash their delicates in the sink.

 

Or get bloody noses (I have two kids that get spontaneous bloody noses for no reason at all.) or wash their hands after a messy period pads/tampon change, or any restroom use one hopes or any number of things. Bathrooms in general are not used for pretty activities.

 

Now if the roommate left a bathroom mess, I'd be livid no matter why bc sanitation in America is pretty dang easy to manage so clean up the mess and sanitize when done. THAT would be my issue.

 

Ok lets take the example of oops you got a bit of something on your underwear.  Or maybe even a lot of something.  It's one pair of underwear.  It's not a bag of 30 bloody pads. 

[Haiku]

Um. What are you doing to your toothbrush?! 😠My toothbrush and my mouth never touches the sink when I'm brushing.

 

Washing things in a sink creates splashes and the like. Wet hands drip. Personally, I just don't trust people to be meticulous enough about thoroughly cleaning the surfaces after they are done.

 

But then again, I have a child with multiple blood-borne illnesses, so universal precautions (and the appalling lack of them among the general public) is a big concern to me.

[fraidycat]

I do not want to brush my teeth in a sink someone just used to wash their bloody menstrual pads in. Yuck.

Just don't lick the sink, you'll be fine. :P

[marbel]

Really.

 

Roads. Streetlamps. Water fountains. Public garbage cans. Public restrooms at parks. You don't use those? Traffic lights. The electricity at stores you visit. National park visitors centers (no your gift does not pay for that, it's a tiny percentage of the amount, it's just there to deter people from living in the parks). The police. Urgent response (you have to pay for the ambulance but not the medics, where I live). NETWORK TELEVISION.

 

I could go on and on and on. Like you have no idea how much we get for free. Tampons? You're drawing the line there?

 

Libraries? You don't go to the library, and CERTAINLY not use their restroom or their toilet paper? Do you have any idea how much work and labor goes into maintaining that? I mean any idea.

 

There is no end to the infrastructure that people expect all around the civilized world. Tampons. Hah! You guys, this is literally the tiniest drop in the bucket.

 

(I do agree with garden mom on one thing, that the textbook racket has GOT to end! But that's another issue, and we can't just have One Issue Per Year.)

 

Seriously, now we're comparing tampons to roads and emergency response? 

 

But OK, I'll play.  All of those taxpayer-funded items listed above are things available to everyone, not just a subset of people.   And, they are things that people cannot provide for themselves.

 

Try as I might to prevent a fire, if despite my best efforts my house starts to burn, there comes a point where all my fire extinguishers and hoses will not put it out.  Where I live, firefighters are all volunteer, but taxes do pay for facilities, training, equipment, etc.  (Taxes and donations.)   And the firefighters will go to anyone's house, and don't charge a fee, even if the fire was started by someone's carelessness or if the call was not even necessary. 

 

Roads?  What a ridiculous comparison.  Or were you trying to be funny?

 

The library offers materials and free computer/internet use to all.  People who don't have a card cannot take books out, but they can read them there, and they can use the computers. There might be a small fee for printing, but I am pretty sure that there is a petty cash fund so if someone truly hasn't got the nickel or dime to print their document, it'll get done. 

 

So yeah, some people are drawing the line at tampons because they something that not everyone needs, and they are something that typically people are able to supply themselves as needed.  And as has been said before:  toilet paper is one size/type fits all.  I may not prefer the cheap stuff that my library uses, but it's usable.  There is no one standard menstrual supply item that is suitable for every person, or that will fit every person.  

 

 

 

 

[Haiku]

And the tampons/pads would be different how? I'm assuming the students wanting tampon dispensers on the bathroom know they don't actually materialize free of cost, anymore than the toilet paper and soap do. So however those are paid for is how the tampons would be paid for. How is it different for them to use your taxes for toilet paper and soap versus pads?

 

Everyone goes to the bathroom. I don't think that the general public should have to subsidize the cost of something that will be used by only a small minority of the general public.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Washing things in a sink creates splashes and the like. Wet hands drip. Personally, I just don't trust people to be meticulous enough about thoroughly cleaning the surfaces after they are done.

 

But then again, I have a child with multiple blood-borne illnesses, so universal precautions (and the appalling lack of them among the general public) is a big concern to me.

 

People who claim this wouldn't bother them...pah I don't buy it.  Really, I don't.

 

We would have these monthly dorm wide meetings to discuss any issues.  At every single meeting students complained about hair in the sink.  They were upset that people didn't wipe hair out of the sink. 

 

I'll take a piece of hair over bloody pad washing any day.

[SKL]

As for how I managed to get products when I was living in a dorm - I do not remember.  Apparently this was not enough of an issue to survive in my otherwise really large memory banks.  I will say that, for most of my life, I used an average of 10 tampons per month, and I didn't use pads in my younger days.  So I would buy a box of 40 tampons about 3-4x per year and be done with it.  I don't remember the details beyond that.

[SparklyUnicorn]

In my case I actually didn't have my period when I was there.  Depo shot.  No periods.  It was so wonderful.  Until it made me depressed and so I had to stop getting it.  Too bad because I'd still be taking it.  No periods is life changing. 

 

 

[SKL]

I would not advocate washing bloody rags in the common dorm sink.  Sorry.  Nope.  Call me privileged.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I would not advocate washing bloody rags in the common dorm sink.  Sorry.  Nope.  Call me privileged.

 

I asked my 14 year old son what he'd think of all of this.  He couldn't relate to the bloody thing.  So I said what about reusable toilet paper.  He understood!  Thought that was gross.

[Bluegoat]

We could as a matter of custom, have people carry wipes and toilet paper. The reason we don't i think is that it is an almost universal need every time we use the toilet and everyone can use the same type. The same is true of soap. As for the toilets themselves, water, etc those are infrastructure.

Menstrual products are much less interchangeable.

Years ago I was involved in having some pay machines for pads installed in a base building. It was actually hard to find a service provider for the machines because they just were not that popular and the machines were often vandalized. It just wasn't that worthwhile, and this in a setting where people were more likely to be stuck. Even then people really preferred to buy their own.

[Murphy101]

Ok lets take the example of oops you got a bit of something on your underwear. Or maybe even a lot of something. It's one pair of underwear. It's not a bag of 30 bloody pads.

I would suspect that a woman who bled so heavily would be paranoid about running out and thus wash them more frequently than waiting for all 30 to be cleaned.

 

But I'm proactive like that in my own paranoia.

 

And I use disposable napkins if it matters. My point as not that anyone else should HAVE to, but that this revulsion over basic life necessity is no different than the old lady worrying about girls eating avocados while in their period. It's a period. It's a bloody mess no matter what for many women, so instead of freaking out about it, let's demand cleaning it up properly regardless of what they use.

 

Personally I don't use cloth bc I'm lazy. And I don't use those cup things because it sounds uncomfortable and messy and I don't see how cleaning that in the bathroom sink is any less icky than cloth pads.

 

But if my roommate used them? I wouldn't care if they are properly cleaning up after themselves. I'd kinda spaz if they didn't clean up after themselves in the bathroom for ANY reason. *shudder*

[mom2scouts]

Am I really the only one who routinely carries tissues, hand sanitizer, and menstrual products because I frequently end up in bathrooms that don't have toilet paper, soap, or paper towels? I must have taken that Boy Scout motto about being prepared to heart.

[gardenmom5]

But how many things, which when taken singularly wouldn't much affect the bottom line, is the university obligated to provide, and, in doing so, how much would the sum of these thing affect the bottom line?

 

yeah.  it's the nickles and dimes of "just this one thing won't matter" which kill budgets . . . .

[vonfirmath]

I wonder whether there are young women on campus who do use cloth pads by choice.  How do they handle it?  Or do they all just switch to disposable until they live off campus?

 

In the dorm where I lived, the only running water was the shower or the (not-private) hand-washing sinks.  Maybe you could fill up some basins and go wash them in your room, but I don't know ... it sounds pretty complicated.  I can't think of any place on campus where a woman could have running water and privacy at the same time.

 

The showers. I lived in a shared-by floor bathroom situation like that.  I don't remember noticing what others were doing at the sinks. But if I was of the kind to care what others thought and I was shy about others seeing when I had supplies to be cleaned and I wanted to use cloth pads, I'd have taken them into the shower with me and washed them there.  Our showers were individual with curtains and privacy

 

Edited March 17, 2016 by vonfirmath

[vonfirmath]

Okay, some are saying the issue is they are demanding it, rather than appreciating it. So lets say there was a building on campus that was always out of toilet paper. Like, at least once a week you were in there and there was none. would it be entitlement to ask they stock that building more frequently?

 

Honestly? I'd get in the habit of carrying toilet paper with me. No I wouldn't go around demanding that they stock more frequently.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I would suspect that a woman who bled so heavily would be paranoid about running out and thus wash them more frequently than waiting for all 30 to be cleaned.

 

But I'm proactive like that in my own paranoia.

 

And I use disposable napkins if it matters. My point as not that anyone else should HAVE to, but that this revulsion over basic life necessity is no different than the old lady worrying about girls eating avocados while in their period. It's a period. It's a bloody mess no matter what for many women, so instead of freaking out about it, let's demand cleaning it up properly regardless of what they use.

 

Personally I don't use cloth bc I'm lazy. And I don't use those cup things because it sounds uncomfortable and messy and I don't see how cleaning that in the bathroom sink is any less icky than cloth pads.

 

But if my roommate used them? I wouldn't care if they are properly cleaning up after themselves. I'd kinda spaz if they didn't clean up after themselves in the bathroom for ANY reason. *shudder*

 

Then..more money.  You have to pay for a full load for a few things.  It adds up.  And that's wasteful really.  Being able to wash a larger load was less expensive. 

 

I would not be nasty towards someone who used them, but some people flip out over stuff.  "I" would be embarrassed and upset about having to use them under those circumstances. 

[Murphy101]

Am I really the only one who routinely carries tissues, hand sanitizer, and menstrual products because I frequently end up in bathrooms that don't have toilet paper, soap, or paper towels? I must have taken that Boy Scout motto about being prepared to heart.

Nope. Me too. I carry toothpaste, toothbrush, nail clippers, Kleenex, hand sanitizer, baby wipes, feminine products, benedryl, Tylenol, glucose for dh, granola bars or trail mix and bottled water, and even tho I have not had a kid in diapers in nearly 3 years, I still carry a diaper (because those diapers where the tab came off and so you couldn't use it? Are GREAT for quickly cleaning up big spills!)

Edited March 17, 2016 by Murphy101

[vonfirmath]

I do not want to brush my teeth in a sink someone just used to wash their bloody menstrual pads in. Yuck.

 

You do realize you have probably washed hands in a sink that was used to rinse off blood and/or poop?  When I have an accident away from home, after all, I DO try to rinse out my underwear right away to avoid staining. And I've certainly done the same when my baby had a poop explosion.

 

 

 

Ok lets take the example of oops you got a bit of something on your underwear.  Or maybe even a lot of something.  It's one pair of underwear.  It's not a bag of 30 bloody pads.

 

When I used cloth pads, I didn't wait to have 30. I washed them out every night and hung them up to dry.

Edited March 17, 2016 by vonfirmath