Student Government has helped to implement the availability of menstrual products in Talley Student Union and will continue working to offer these products at other on-campus locations. Starting Feb. 5, boxes became available in all the female and gender-neutral restrooms in Talley.
The program, currently called “Pack Bleeds Red,” first gained attention last year after graduate student Jasmine Park proposed a line item budget process and eventually received $1,600 allocated to the program. Student Body Vice President Mia Connell, a third-year studying communication, says the money was originally going to go toward having free menstrual products in the library.
“This year, after Appalachian State announced that they were doing it in their student union, we were kind of reminded, hey, we have this line item,” Connell said. “We need to get it working, and we started looking into where we wanted to host our program.”
Student volunteers refill the boxes with menstrual products daily. Connell says the boxes have been popular so far, with only one incident of possible theft.
“We’ve kind of projected our expenses based on Chapel Hill’s expenses in their student union, but then inflating it for our student population size,” Connell said. “We go through … and make sure all the bathrooms are stocked, and we know what percentage are being used in each bathroom and where the most use is taking place.”
Plans to expand the program are also being looked at. Connell mentioned that she has already been contacted by student organizations, the library and NC State University Recreation.
Sara Forcella, the rape prevention education coordinator in the Women’s Center, is among the supporters of the program.
“I think that having period supplies in the bathrooms in Talley is a really great step,” Forcella said. “I’m really glad that Student Government was able to make that happen. It is important for people that experience their periods to be able to know there’s access to any menstrual products so that they don’t have to worry about running out or not being able to go to class. Sometimes people that don’t need menstrual products don’t realize how expensive they are.”
Liyan Khan, a second-year studying foreign language education, says the program has helped a lot of people she knows.
“There’s a lot of students that live off campus, and something like this is really helpful to them,” Khan said. “I do think that spreading awareness about it is important though, because many people don’t know these products are now available.”
While responses from the student body and the university have been mostly positive, the program has faced some challenges.
“Apparently there’s a North Carolina law that says we can’t use student dollars on personal items,” Connell said. “I’m trying to get a more definite answer on what that law says and what that means in terms of the program, because I do see menstrual products as a health care issue.”
However, Connell says she and a team are working on a solution. She hopes the program will provide free menstrual supplies long-term.
According to Connell, the program has had to make some other changes as well, including rebranding because the word ‘Pack’ is too closely affiliated to the university. Starting next week, the program will change its name to “We Bleed Red.”
