Cornell should be next in the push for free pads and tampons

Many things can be uncomfortable to talk about, and according to the norms we currently hold, “that time of the month” is one of them.

Due to the lack of willing and open discussion, it seems that people aren’t ready to address the issues that come along with being a person born with a vagina, who bleeds on a monthly basis. It’s human biology!

Today, I received the following text on the way to class from one of my friends:

I promise this was part of an unscripted group chat and JV just likes to throw around hashtags. JV also did eventually get a tampon from a friend and has saved her white jeans from a stain. However, this anecdote is something that affects just about half of our generation, but somehow it is much easier to find free condoms around campus than it is to find tampons and other sanitary products. As people who menstruate, it’s not exactly like we can just choose to stop bleeding because it’s inconvenient.

Luckily, change is on the horizon. The past few weeks have created an interesting movement as tampons and sanitary products will now be offered for free in non-residential bathrooms of all genders at Brown University. I applaud the institution for tackling this issue and allowing students who menstruate the ability to care for their bodies in a cost effective manner. Moreover, it is fantastic that regardless of gender identity, these products will be accessible to anyone who needs them.

Brown was the first Ivy League to take action, but a referendum a Cornell was quickly created in response. With 2,356 signatures regarding the question, “should pads and tampons be available free of charge to students in all bathrooms on campus?” it will appear on the Student Assembly ballot in the coming week.

THE DATES TO VOTE ON THIS ISSUE IS Sunday, September 25th at 10pm through Tuesday, September 27th at 1pm.

Credit Kim Murton

To quote Annabel Sen, Editor of The Tab Brown:

“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.”

Not only would this movement forward be physically beneficial to a large part of the student population and the Cornell community as a whole, but the economic impact it has is clearly significant!

If we, as a society equate hygiene products such as pads and tampons as luxury items, then why should we not also require people to carry around their own personal stashes of toilet paper (or at least pay for it) when they need to use the restroom? I look forward to a future in which all public facilities recognize this basic need and uphold everyone’s rights to be clean and comfortable.