Colleges, high schools and middle schools in the United States are providing free tampons and sanitary pads to students. Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island is the first higher-education institution to have joined the campus-wide initiative, which was led by its student body president.
Viet Nguyen, who headed the student-led movement, and 20 other students will hand-deliver tampons and sanitary pads into all non-residential bathrooms, Newsweek reported. The initiative signifies that pads and tampons are a bathroom "necessity" (like toilet paper and hand soap) and "not a luxury."
Tampons and sanitary pads will be available in women's, men's, and gender-inclusive bathrooms. This echoes students' wish to access free feminine hygiene products in all bathrooms at the university regardless of gender labels. Nguyen said that this establishes a "tone of trans-inclusivity and not forget that they're an important part of the population," Newsweek further reported.
Nguyen said that they have received positive feedback just two days after the initiative was launched. Other universities have called or emailed them to ask for help on how they can start their own programs similar to Nguyen's.
There are people, however, who opposed Brown University's initiative. Almost all of that negative feedback was about the feminine hygiene supplies being available in men's bathroom.
A statement from Brown University's student government described the initiative as "long overdue." They also encourage other student governments to follow their example for the current school year. Funding for the free feminine hygiene products was provided by the undergraduate student association's finance board.
Student government representatives will refill the tampons and sanitary pads once a week, The Washington Post reported. The group hopes that the university will assume that responsibility in the long run.
Students at Brown University aren't the only ones getting free tampons and sanitary pads. New York City public schools will also provide free feminine hygiene products starting this fall, Newsweek further reported.
NYC's landmark legislation passed on July 13, 2016 will involve 25 schools with sixth to 12th graders. There will be free feminine hygiene products in homeless shelters and correctional facilities as well.
Other schools that have advocated for free feminine hygiene products in bathrooms are the University of Arizona, Columbia University, Emory College, Reed College, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, UCLA, and Grinnell College, among others, Newsweek listed. The Wellington School in Columbus, Ohio, started providing free tampons and sanitary pads in school bathrooms a decade ago.
