MONICA A. MANNEY
Special to the Leader
Have you ever been in class and realized your “time of the month” has come unexpectedly? Hopefully tissue can stop the blood flow because you won’t find pads or tampons in the bathrooms of SUNY Fredonia.
When asked if she had ever noticed the lack of sanitary dispensers, student Allegra Freier said that she had “absolutely” noticed.
“There are no sanitary napkin dispensers in any buildings except one, and that one was empty,” she said, while looking around campus for a tampon.
In desperate times, she remembered having to get “creative” with uncomfortable tactics to ensure she didn’t “bleed everywhere.”
According to 2016 Fast Facts, which provides data regarding SUNY, Fredonia has a student population of 4,386. Available sanitary products are necessary with well over half of these students experiencing a monthly menstrual cycle.
Lacking in bathroom resources gives students the option of either leaking on their way to the convenience stores or waiting and hoping a friend has extra products for them.
Fredonia junior and journalism major, Shantasia Johnson recalls multiple instances where she had to run across campus to provide sanitary products to friends.
“It’s weird that we are forced to depend on each other rather than those things being provided,” she said.
Although teamwork and connection is something Fredonia’s mission statement values, depending on each other for sanitary napkins is not mentioned in its description.
For students who are financially stable, grabbing a tampon or pad from the convenience store may be no problem, but for those who are not, their time of the month can be an inconvenience.
“They don’t know what money or resources students have or don’t have. It’s expensive,” said Fierer.
Campus stores do offer pads and tampons, but at more than double the price of Walmart and other off-campus stores. No matter what Fredonia changes the price of sanitary products to, they will always be significantly more than condoms, which constantly ring up free.
Each semester, Fredonia’s Health Hut temporarily provides sanitary napkins for students on campus — until they run out. Their supply of condoms, however, is endless.
According to the Coordinator of Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention at SUNY Fredonia Julie Bezeck, Playtex donates a case of pads while the state offers condoms consistently.
“More condoms are available since we are able [to] obtain free condoms through NYS Department of Health,” she said.
Likewise, a report on Fred ASSIST, a sexual health group on Fredonia’s campus, sheds light on why Fredonia lacks sanitary resources.
“The whole point of getting period products for Fred ASSIST is to be able to give them out for free to students and staff. Paying for them would be counterproductive. Plus, people may not be able to afford to buy them.”
Providing sanitary products is not just a Fredonia campus concern.
After interviewing students from 20 colleges and high schools, it was found that approximately 75 percent of institutions either did not provide sanitary supplies or only supplied them in a few buildings. The remaining 25 percent of schools either provided supplies in every restroom or have started initiatives to provide them.
Swarthmore College junior Rebecca Reagan commented on the “Pads for Undergrads” campaign that was started by students at her Pennsylvania school.
“It was an idea coming from a bunch of students who formed a committee and were able to get funding under the budget for student [organizations],” she said.
The program runs on a system of trust, as students are asked to take only what is necessary.
“There are little baskets … with pads and tampons … asking us to please take them only when we need to. I’ve rarely seen a basket empty, so it seems like people really do just take what they need,” said Reagan.
Another student, Alex Montilla, discussed the initiative to provide free supplies at Canisius College in Buffalo. Like at Swarthmore’s school, this initiative was also started by students.
“Canisius just started an initiative at the end of last semester to get pads and tampons into bathrooms through student government,” Montilla said.
Without a budget to purchase sanitary napkins, and no programs able to provide them, the solution may not start on an administrative level. SUNY Fredonia students may need to take a note from other colleges and fight for the necessities of life until someone is willing to listen.