On April 25th, the Boston University Student Government Senate voted unanimously (94% for, 6% abstaining) to spend the remainder of its annual budget towards menstrual products (both tampons and pads) to distribute freely across campus. This means that over $1,000 (the official amount still to be determined) will be allocated toward these items. While this is a large sum of money, our constituents are concerned about the lack of free access to these products on campus. After all, the University makes condoms extremely accessible across campus in an effort to promote sexual health. It is a disservice to the students on this campus that their hygienic health, especially in emergencies, is not taken into consideration.

We plan to work with entities on campus, such as Facilities or Residence Life, to make this endeavor a reality. Our ideal objective is to freely provide these products in classroom building bathrooms like CAS. If not, we will provide them in dormitories or through emergency “kits” students may order, similar to the Condom Fairy program by Wellness. In one way or another, these products will be freely distributed.

Our ultimate goal is to prove a need for these free products on campus to the university administration so that our initiative may continue to be funded, by student government budgets in years to come, or ideally, an department such as SHS. We request the full support of our Student Government advisor, Dean Battaglino, the entire SG executive board, and the student body to make this a reality.

Please sign this petition if you believe that the rest of the Student Government budget should be spent on feminine hygiene products to distribute freely on Boston University's campus. We welcome your ideas of how to distribute these items in the comments below.