Colleges across the country are putting tampons in men’s bathrooms in an effort to bring about “menstrual equity” in restrooms.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Brown University and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities are just a few colleges that placed menstruation products in their male and gender-neutral bathrooms.
Jade Mosley, a liberal student of Smith College wrote in the school’s publication, The Sophian, saying:
“I think we need to do more than simply remove the stigma around periods. Smith College, which has posited itself as a progressive institution for gender and sexuality, has to understand that accessibility remains a serious issue for menstrual hygiene.”
Smith is an all-women college located in Northampton, Massachusetts that is known for its liberal agenda and policies.
Mosley, who feels the school is not yet liberal enough, wrote an article calling for the school to install period supplies in men’s bathrooms across campus. She writes:
“House bathrooms and other public restrooms on campus are not equipped with pad or tampon dispensers. While these products are sold at the Smith College Bookstore in a spot central to campus, surely, taking menstruation seriously means doing more than just acknowledging that some students do it. If students are guaranteed access to toilet paper, hand soap, and paper towels in any given restroom, why not menstrual products? All of these materials serve the purpose of maintaining hygiene. Only one is more expensive than the rest. Students are not expected to trek halfway across campus for toilet paper, and it stands to reason that they should not have to do so for pads or tampons. So, what can be done?”
The student journalist went on to write that Smith “is not exempt from the widespread effects of period poverty by virtue alone’ and urged the institution to ‘take the hygienic needs of its.. students of varying identities… seriously.”
Mosley argued that the school needs to face the issue rather than try to ignore it.
“Smith should pioneer by taking the strangely radical position of understanding a period for what it is; a cycle common to those with uteruses which requires hygienic care.”
Not providing free and accessible menstrual products to students, the writer proclaimed, is a “deliberate choice’ that ‘sends a clear message to menstruating students about the lack of care for their wellbeing.”
“Where students may do their business, they should also be able to easily manage their menstrual cycles. Similar to toilet paper, these products should be made available in large enough quantities that there is no pervasive worry that any bathroom might be completely out. This applies to individual toilets and rooms with multiple stalls.”
Mosley believes the administration is falling short of dealing with gender issues even though Smith College has been a school dedicated to the progress of women.
“Attending a historically women’s college is not a safe haven from gendered societal problems, and Smith is not exempt from the widespread effects of period poverty by virtue alone. Supporting students of varying identities requires institutional action — and a fairly simple one. I only ask that Smith takes the hygienic needs of its student body seriously.”
Earlier last year, Smith College quietly conceded that there was no truth to allegations of racism in the school’s cafeteria that led to one staff member’s resignation, another’s dismissal, and one staff member who was named online to be hospitalized with stress.
Regardless, the college forced employees to attend seminars after unconscious bias after the incident.
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Source: AWM
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