Giulianna Lalomio
Chief Copy Editor
The distinction between the words “equality” and “equity” has been a crucial focus in DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) since the term emerged in the 1960s.
The only instance that I can think of where this question is needlessly posed, however, is in the provision of free menstrual products in bathrooms.
In this particular situation, equality truly may be the better answer.
For anyone who routinely purchases menstrual products, it is no secret that prices have continued to follow the trend of inflation.
As of July 2024, the average price of a package of tampons was up 36%, and pads rose to 41%, both percentages surpassing food price inflation, according to the Wall Street Journal.
This dramatic increase was enough of a concern to draw the attention of our public officials, specifically New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey, who represents the 41st district as a Democratic Party member.
In August 2024, “her bill (S5910B) requiring public colleges and universities to provide free menstrual products in campus restrooms was signed into law… by Governor Hochul in celebration of Women’s Equality Day.”
Since then, thanks to Senator Hinchey, State University of New York (SUNY) and City University of New York (CUNY) students can rest easy knowing that they can simply pop into any campus bathroom and find the solution to a visit from “Aunt Flo.”
Yet, as you might have guessed, I wouldn’t be writing this article if there weren’t an error in that statement.
In September 2024, The Leader published an article titled “New York State passes a bill requiring universities to provide free menstrual products.”
At the time, before the bill had passed, Darin Schulz, head of Fredonia’s Faculty Student Association (FSA), was trying to find a way to get menstrual product vending machines on campus.
However, with the new law, the implementation of products in all bathrooms would have to take effect immediately, and compliance would be mandatory.
As we are now four months into 2026, it has only recently become common to see free menstrual products in bathrooms, and so far, they have only been found in ones labeled for women and some in gender-neutral ones.
The campus’s responsibility to provide this free service, through their own means of funding, is further supported by the Public Health Law § 267, signed into effect in July of 2018, which “increases the amount of purchasing of these products by the state, including SUNY and CUNY schools.”
Although it is public knowledge that Fredonia is dealing with a structural deficit, that shouldn’t be an excuse to disregard state-wide law.
Beyond compliance, it is also a great disservice to students who rely on the ability to comfortably deal with a natural phenomenon that is often very uncomfortable.
Senator Hinchey further supports this sentiment on her website, saying, “Menstrual products are a fundamental health necessity, and no one should be held back in school, work or life because they can’t afford or access them.”
Sydney Smith, a freshman psychology major and current chair of the Student Association’s Community Relations Committee, recently began researching Bill S5910B after wondering how the campus was implementing it.
As someone who utilizes the women’s bathrooms, she was shocked to find that, beyond the concern that pads were the only available option, many bathrooms had nearly empty dispensers, with some not receiving a dispenser or, even worse, still having the old 25-cent dispensers.
“College is expensive enough, and the fact that we are making our students go out of their way to get hygienic products — it’s a major problem,” Smith passionately stated. “We are letting our students down, and action needs to happen so all of our students have access to reliable and comfortable products that were promised under the Aunt Flo bill.”
As the bill was specifically worded to require providing free products for “all” bathrooms, it seems, in addition to poor implementation in the women’s bathrooms, the men’s bathrooms haven’t received the products at all.
Jordan Stephens, a senior business administration major and the president of the Student Association (SGA), said, “SGA is in full support of ensuring that this law is being adhered to and is looking to follow up with administration on this issue.”
Stephens also said that he feels guilty that the issue wasn’t brought to his attention sooner, so that SGA could have been looking into solutions all along.
Finally, he confirmed that he has not seen any version of menstrual products in the men’s bathrooms on campus.
Equality shouldn’t be accomplished only through laws.
Fredonia had every opportunity to resolve this issue before the state issued its mandate but instead waited until the last possible second to take action and was, inevitably, unprepared.
Time and again, Fredonia has failed to be proactive or meaningfully respond to laws and mandates passed through SUNY or the state — whether concerning menstrual products, the sustainability action plan or program cuts.
A question echoed by nearly every student remains: “How many voices will it take for the campus to take responsibility?”
And even more so, when will equality be equal?