These are Basic Health Needs!

By: Caitlin Clift

I couldn’t even begin to count the times I had to ask, or was asked, for an extra menstrual product at my public schools growing up. The few, old machines around the bathrooms that deposited a bulky pad were either broken or completely empty, and if you chose to take the long walk to the nurse’s office, they often charged you. Why is it that menstruation, something that around half the students at my high school experienced, is something that public schools choose to ignore? And why do we, the students, have to pay for it, especially at our schools?

As one of the board members of my high school’s feminist club, my friends and I realized the dire need for reform. Together, we created petitions and worked to gather signatures from our peers at break and lunch, urging them to support free menstrual products at our school. We were also in contact with our principal and school board– both of whom often brushed us off or gave us non-answers. After many discussions with our high school’s principal, we finally got brand new, functional menstrual product dispensers in our bathrooms!

Looking back on my public school experience, the availability of free or accessible menstrual products would have made an enormous difference. Not only is the lack of menstrual products already an issue, but it further targets marginalized, low-income students. While there have been efforts to provide free menstrual products in all California public schools and communities, like through the Menstrual Equity Act, implementation is far from beginning and many schools, like all of the UCs, are not included in this bill. However, this issue goes far beyond just supplying pads and tampons. It’s the lack of adequate, sustained funding in our schools and communities for basic resources. At the end of the day, it is shocking that we, the students, are expected to fight for our basic necessities and fill in these resource gaps on our own. We should not have to fight for functional dispensers. Just like we should not have to fight for enough counselors, buses, or meals. It’s time for decent, sustained funding to give our students more than just the bare minimum.