Written by Iris Poncin
SOAR Students, Faculty & Staff,
Lack of access to menstrual products causes students to feel uncomfortable, embarrassed, worried, unsafe, and distracted. UNT Dallas College of Law reports that “When lacking the necessary menstrual hygiene products, students are forced to leave the classroom in search of a solution, thus losing valuable instruction time. Put simply, menstruating students are being denied educational opportunities on the basis of sex.” Out of 150 SOAR students and staff surveyed, 98% of respondents said that menstrual products should be provided on campus, and 59.3% of people reported not knowing where they can be found. Here are some of their anonymous statements:
“Lack of products at school affect my education cause me discomfort and worry.”
“When there isn't anything in the soar bathrooms or any bathrooms and an accident happens during class it's a lot more stressful trying to figure out how to get to class”
“During my menstrual cycle if I don't have any access or much access to them I will constantly be worrying about it, it often times distracts me.”
“It [free menstrual products in the restroom] also provides a level of security, or a "safety net" that allows for the comfort of knowing where to retrieve them and being confident in the fact that the school thinks about the needs of students and actually wants to provide them with the tools, both mentally and physically, to be able to attend school and actually learn without distractions from situations you may not be able to prevent.”
“I know some people who keep the same pad on all day because of their limited supply. This is not only unhygienic but distracting and even dangerous.”
“It can become extremely embarrassing and uncomfortable to have to go through a day sitting and trying to learn when you forgot to bring a menstrual product, ran out of your personal supply, or don't have the means to provide them for yourself. It can also be hard to concentrate when you are constantly worrying about what might happen to clothing when you do not have a menstrual product on hand.”
Overwhelmingly, students are not being provided with an adequate supply of menstrual products, and these are only reports from the women’s restrooms. While it might cover the majority of students by refilling the single menstrual product machine every morning, not everyone who menstruates uses the women’s restrooms. Still, there is no machine in the men’s or even staff’s restrooms that assure them a worry free day at school.
In October 2021, Governor Newsom signed AB 367 - The “Menstrual Equity for All Act” requiring public schools, grades 6 to 12, to stock school restrooms with an “adequate supply of free menstrual products in every women’s and all-gender restrooms as well as in at least one men’s restroom, at all times.” Schools are also required to inform students of availability and post a notice on or before the start of the 2022-23 school year.
We urge the administration to enforce AB 367 in SOAR High School immediately. This means keeping an adequate supply of menstrual products in the girls’, boys’, and staff bathrooms, fully restocked every morning. Posting notice of where all students can find menstrual products is necessary to ease worry and safety issues. Finally, we want menstrual education, including common symptoms and signs to worry about as well as locations of menstrual products to be provided for both students and staff in the office and around SOAR’s campus.
Edit: As of April 12 at 9:20 AM Principal Johnston supplied baskets with free menstrual products and equipped individual stalls with waste bins in both the men’s and staff bathrooms. After meeting with her, she agreed to have staff fill these bathrooms with adequate menstrual products regularly. We thank everyone for their petition signatures and filling out our long survey, and hope that future students feel comfortable asking for the changes we need to see in school and beyond.
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