Tampons and pads are finally free in student bathrooms at Brown
Finally Brown made the right decision
Yesterday Brown Undergraduate Council of Students confirmed sanitary products will be available in all non-residential bathrooms.
The decision was made after the high profile tampon-tax was lifted in New York. Over recent months, the topic has incited strong support as a “matter of social and economic justice”.
UCS president Viet Nguyen said these events inspired Brown’s decision to allow students free access to sanitary products.
“Why aren’t these products treated the same way as other products we hand out, like toilet paper?” he told the Guardian. “It’s a necessity, rather than a luxury, so Brown and other universities should treat them as such.”
Thanks Viet
Nguyen added in a letter to the undergraduate student body that such items were available to all those who need it, regardless of gender identity. To ensure inclusive standards, they will be available in all women’s, men’s and gender-inclusive bathrooms in non-residential buildings.
Brown is the first Ivy League to provide free menstrual products in academic buildings. Nguyen hopes other educational institutions will follow suit in addressing this issue of equality. It is time this issue moved on from just a conversation to a priority moving on into the school year.
The National Organization for Women President Terry O’Neill lauded Brown for making moves in the right direction.
“Feminine hygiene products are not a luxury. They’re as essential as toilet paper, just ask anyone who has ever struggled to obtain or afford them,” she said in a statement. “Students’ participation in school should not be hindered by insufficient access to this basic necessity.”
So we did some math to see how much money we have been spending on basic sanitary needs.
Around 70 percent of female students use tampons. We are instructed to change them around every six hours. On average, a box of 36 tampons sold at CVS are $7 each.
One tampon every six hours = four tampons per day x five days of a period = 20 tampons per cycle x 48 periods = 960 tampons. At 36 tampons per box, that’s 253.3 boxes x $7 = $1,773.33 saved over four years at Brown.