Please sign this petition if you stand with the 71st Student Senate's efforts to make menstrual hygiene products accessible in several on-campus restrooms. 

So its no wonder that periods are expensive. Because there are no free tampons or pads at Texas A&M University, students are often forced to go home early or skip class completely when their cycle starts unexpectedly. We have alarming rates of food insecurity on campus, and an impoverished student faces the choice between getting a meal and being comfortable, and that shouldn't happen on our campus. Barriers to access to menstrual products is also a public health concern, increasing the risk of conditions such as toxic shock syndrome, which is life-threatening, urinary tract infections, bacterial vaginosis, and other diseases and conditions. 

Many peer institutions and satellite campuses have already established a permanent program such as the University of Texas at Austin, Florida State University, Cornell University, Emory University, the University of California at Los Angeles, Northeastern University, The University of Utah, and Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Texas A&M Commerce. We are a tier one research institution and THE flagship university of Texas, so we should be leading by example. 

Implementing an initiative like this on campus would make our school a more inclusive community, demonstrating that we care about the comfort, accessibility, and education of over half of our student body.