Image courtesy of Aunt Flow
Elementary and high schools, colleges, and universities across the United States and the world provide free access to period products for their students. Skidmore College does not. Equipping students with period products such as tampons and pads is part of a larger issue of accessibility and inclusion on college campuses. It is not only connected to student mental health wellness and academic success but also overall happiness of students on campus.
In 2018, New York State passed a law requiring all elementary and high school building bathrooms in public schools to have period products available to students for free. This legislation has ensured access to period products in the public educational settings across the state. However, the law does not apply to private colleges and universities.
At Skidmore, students may be coming to a campus with fewer period product services than their high schools had. The College must not only catch up to our public peer institutions in terms of menstrual product accessibility, but also be a leader in combatting the infrastructural inequities and gendered language that alienate transgender and non-binary people in similar programs at other schools.
Ensuring period product accessibility and security in all bathrooms for all Skidmore community members is essential in continuing to advocate for a more inclusive and equitable Skidmore College campus. Throughout the past few months, SGA President Nathaniel Lowell and Co-Vice President for Inclusion and Outreach Kimberly Nee have been designing a legislative initiative to do just that.
On October 11, 2022, the SGA Senate passed and SGA President Lowell signed a proposal, Resolution 33-01: Period Equity Act, approving the purchase of tampon and pad dispensers for all 129 women's, men's, and all-user academic bathrooms on campus.
All 129 dispensers being brought to Skidmore are Aunt Flow’s Model E Dispenser. These dispensers will provide access to free tampons and pads to students, faculty, and staff in all Skidmore College academic bathrooms.
The applicator tampons and cartridge pads purchased from Aunt Flow adhere to Skidmore College’s commitment to sustainability and environmental friendliness. All products are plastic-free and 100% cotton.
This investment into our community is a great step forward in making Skidmore a more inclusive space for students and eliminating the inequities in period product accessibility that currently exist on our campus. That inclusivity is essential to SGA’s mission of working for a better Skidmore for all.
The dispensers will be installed by the beginning of the spring semester. SGA will conduct a survey to gather feedback from the Skidmore community on the initiative at the end of the academic year. For more information on this SGA initiative and Aunt Flow, please visit https://goauntflow.com/.
Throughout the year ahead, SGA will continue fighting and advocating for student interests across campus. If you have any ideas for what SGA needs to focus on moving forward or want to get involved yourself, do not hesitate to email SGA President Lowell at sga_prez@skidmore.edu or set up a time to meet during his office hours at https://president-lowell.youcanbook.me.
Nathaniel Lowell ‘24 (he/him) is the Student Government Association President for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Kimberly Nee ‘23 (she/her) is one of the Student Government Association Co-Vice Presidents for Inclusion and Outreach for the 2022-2023 academic year.