Feminine hygiene products are expensive. The average cost a menstruating person spends a year on pads and tampons alone (not including panty liners, Midol, heating pads, underwear replacements, comfort items, etc.) is about $125. Bloody hell. While it's true that there are reusable period products, most women in the United States use tampons. So why are we treating menstrual products as luxury instead of basic necessities? This affects us students attending Pacific University, especially low-income students, because we need to pay for transportation, food, tuition, and more. Having to choose between buying a box of tampons or a sandwich creates a huge barrier to success and health. Free period products should be just as accessible as free condoms.

The bathrooms in our school provides toilet paper, paper towels, soap, and seat covers to help with our natural bodily fluids...Well what about periods? I don't think anyone would disagree that menstruation is a natural bodily function, so why not be inclusive and provide for free period products in the UC bathrooms? Speaking of inclusion, menstruation doesn't just affect women. There are many students who attend Pacific University that identify as non-binary or trans, and it's important for these students' safety, success, and health to have access to these products as well.

The UC, being a 24 hour central location for students, has 2 gender neutral bathrooms on the upper level, and one women's bathroom downstairs. Our goal is to provide free pads and tampons, at no cost to students, in these bathrooms so that menstruating students can have easy access to basic necessities without getting in the way of education, success, safety, privacy, and health.

Before we can ask for extra support, we need to prove this is an issue that Pacific University students, and community, take seriously. We hope to gain support from the Center for Gender Equity, the Health Center, and the Dean of Students. Please sign the petition if you stand with menstrual equity.