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It started with volunteers and members of the Student Association traveling from building to building on Syracuse University’s campus to supply students with free menstrual pads and tampons in small plastic containers in bathrooms. But after the pandemic hit, the menstrual products program came to a halt.

In November 2021, SA President David Bruen said, “My position is that no one should pay. (Menstrual hygiene products) should be free.” Four months later, he and SA Vice President Darnelle Stinfort turned that into a reality.

SA invested $56,000 in mid-November for menstrual hygiene products for a full year — Phase 1 of the Menstrual Product Program. With a $1.5 million surplus for its budget in the 2021-22 school year, SA decided to move forward with the project to provide free menstrual hygiene products on campus.

Bruen said the $56,000 was divided for the supply of sanitary products and purchase of the dispensers. The investment does not include the installation of the dispensers, but the university will assist SA with the installment.

Stinfort said she’s happy to see the project move forward.

“(The Dean of Students Office was) very supportive. It was really nice to see them all for it. Really no hesitation, no problem,” she said.

“We’re going to disagree on a lot of things, if not majority, but it’s all about compromise,” Stinfort said. “That’s kind of what life is. So it was really nice to have (the Dean of Students Office) on our side.”

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Phase 1 has been completed with the installation of dispensers in the highest trafficked buildings on campus — Bird Library and Schine Student Center, said Rob Hradsky, the vice president for the student experience.

Bruen said SA and the university have completed the installation in Falk College as well, and the next building they are working on is the Barnes Center at The Arch. But there are currently delays due to structural issues of various buildings that will require modifications.

The university is working with SA in moving into Phase 2 this upcoming summer, Hradsky said. Additional phases may be added depending on SA and the university’s next steps. Dispensers for menstrual hygiene products will be installed in the bathrooms of 11 buildings: Hinds Hall, Link Hall, Slocum Hall, Bowne Hall, Physics Building, Huntington Beard Crouse Hall, Hall of Languages, Hendricks Chapel, Carnegie Library, the Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Whitman School of Management.

Residence halls will not be part of this project for now, Bruen said.

“The general belief is that because residence halls are students’ homes, there would be less of a need to provide the product in each of the bathrooms in the residence halls,” Hradsky said.

The alternative is to potentially install dispensers in main floor restrooms in residence halls and dining halls in the future, Hradsky said. SA will continue to provide free menstrual hygiene products in small containers in dorm halls, but may have limited ability to ensure all residence halls will be stocked, Bruen said.

Additionally, both Bruen and Stinfort said SA will work with Hendricks Chapel to provide menstrual hygiene products to its food pantry as another means to assist people with financial accessibility issues.

Stinfort said that this project will not be limited to this academic year.

“This should be for years to come,” she said. “This is going to be set in our operating budget and will continue on.”

Published on March 7, 2022 at 1:13 am

Contact Ivana: ixie01@syr.edu