$18,171. That’s the average cost of menstruation over a lifetime, including tampons, pads, liners and birth control. In their time at Wash. U., thousands of students and staff will not just have to endure the physical discomfort of their periods, but also the costs. While this may be a reasonable thing to ask for people with jobs and incomes, during college, most students are focused on their studies. Even when students work, menstrual products consume a large portion of their disposable incomes. This is why during one of the most formative times of our lives, Wash. U. ought to provide free menstrual products for those who menstruate in every building and residential college.

This basic human right has already been recognized by dozens of peer institutions. Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, Northwestern University, Emory University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Saint Louis University all offer free menstrual products across their campuses. At places like Brown University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, menstrual products can be found in men’s restrooms along with women’s and gender-neutral restrooms for transgender or gender-nonconforming students who menstruate. While some of these schools are still going through pilot programs, most have transitioned to their administrations allocating funding to ensure that students who menstruate never lose access.

Wash. U. offers menstrual products in only a few select locations on campus. In Simon Hall, the Knight Center/Bauer Hall and the Danforth University Center, students can find low-quality tampons and pads supplied by our janitorial company. (Graduate students can also find menstrual products in the Law School and the Brown School.) This means that a majority of students still lack access to a basic necessity in most buildings across campus: A student in McMillan Hall or Hillman Hall would have to run across campus to pick up a tampon or a pad for an emergency. Furthermore, the low-quality tampons—typically made of cardboard—are uncomfortable for most users. They have less of a rounded end and can scrape the vaginal wall. Plastic applicators are largely preferred as they allow for more control and are smoother upon application. Although neither type of applicator is optimal for the environment, most people choose not to use a tampon with no applicator as they feel they have very little control over placement and may not be inserted comfortably. Additionally, the pads provided, at least in the DUC, do not have “wings,” the flaps of a pad that would wrap around the underwear, and this results in a decrease in absorptive strength and possible leakage.

Providing free menstrual products isn’t just about health. It’s also about socioeconomic justice, ensuring that low income students don’t have to worry about the financial strain of spending on menstrual products. In America, around 25 million people fall into period poverty because they fall below the poverty line but cannot use their food stamps to purchase menstrual products. Wash. U. students should not be among them. It’s about education, so that students who begin menstruating during class have access to products instead of having to rush to a different building or returning to their dorms. It’s about our values as a university: With signs across campus that proudly celebrate “150 Years of Women at Wash. U. Law,” we should be creating an environment that supports, values and includes women, and signal to every person on campus that their health, their education and their lives matter to our entire university and our administration.

Whether you menstruate or not, you should care about the people around you who do. Our community is founded upon collective strength and unity: taking care of one another to make sure that we all get the most out of our time here at Wash. U. The First Year Class Council and the Student Union Senate are currently working together to make this vision a reality, from filing for grants to meeting with representatives from Habif, the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Residential Life, and even up to Vice Chancellor White and Chancellor Martin. You too can make your voice heard by emailing about this, joining the movement and telling your SU Senators you want this to be a priority. Together, we can push for a better campus that is inclusive, safe and welcoming to all.

Menstrual equity is a right every student at Wash. U. is entitled to. By providing tampons, pads, diva cups and other menstrual products for the student body for free, our university can finally move one step closer towards a better community for all students. People who menstruate always deserve to do so with dignity, period.