By Claire Denne & Jisele Garcia,
Staff Writer & Opinion Editor
At the beginning of the school year, the administration installed pad and tampon dispensers into the girls’ bathrooms. However, the service abruptly stopped after the first fill. Now students have no period products. What’s forgotten is that some students don’t have access to these resources.
The school must provide menstrual products for their students because it is a basic human necessity. The need for this product in bathrooms holds the same value as toilet paper and seat covers in regards to practicing physical hygiene.
A new bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom requires all California schools to supply free menstrual products in bathrooms for grades six through 12, beginning the 2022-2023 school year. The problem is that students can’t magically stop their menstrual cycles until the next school year swings around. We need these resources now.
Reducing access of menstrual products to only the nurse’s office forces a psychological burden onto students who are undergoing a normal bodily occurrence.
School administrators should consider how period products are expensive, especially for adolescents, who typically don’t have a source of income. Some students cannot afford to buy their own products, so their only access is through school resources.
Menstruators can agree that period cycles are hard to predict; the anticipation can cause anxiety since many fear leaking through clothes. This factor creates a greater sense of urgency to put on a pad or insert a tampon, which is why having quick access to pads and tampons is a must. Forcing students to take a longer route to the nurse’s office rather than the bathroom is illogical and shows how student needs are not taken seriously.
TCHS must dedicate more of the health budget to provide quick access to pads and tampons in girls’ bathrooms. If costs are an issue, organizations such as Girls Learn International and The Pad Project help schools obtain menstrual products.
Simply refilling the empty dispensers consistently doesn’t seem that difficult as the same is done with hygienic essentials like toilet paper, seat covers, soap and paper towels.
Students must also voice their concerns and demands to administrators because they don’t know of or address the issue until someone calls it to their attention.
Menstruating students demand the implementation of pads and tampons for all students. Students are entitled to their basic human right of having access to menstrual products in bathrooms. Simply ignoring this issue will not make it go away.