For most of Northwood’s history and as per the policy of Chatham County schools, when a girl needed a pad or a tampon during the day, they would go the nurse and get one.
“They were never purchased,” nurse Melissa Lassen said. “They were actually what we had received as free samples from feminine hygiene companies.”
Two years ago the school experimented with putting their stock of pads and tampons in the bathrooms to be used by students in need. According to Lassen, they had accumulated such a large amount of feminine products that they thought it would be easier for students to have direct access. However, the entire supply was quickly depleted.
“We never imagined that people would fill their backpacks and walk out of the bathroom with it,” Lassen said.
According to Lassen, it is very unusual to have sanitary supplies in high school bathrooms.
“No other high school in this county supplies that or even around us do they supply those kinds of products,” Lassen said. “Sure, they have some like we have some, on hand for emergencies.”
But many girls, like senior Elsbeth McGregor, were appreciative of the effort to make pads and tampons more easily available.
“I think it’s a really cool thing to do and it’s a really great thing that the school tried it out,” McGregor said. “If there’s a way to have a better system where we don’t have the issue of people just taking them, we should definitely reintegrate it into the school because it helps a lot of the girls throughout the day.”
McGregor’s wish might become a reality. Since the loss of the backup supply, the nurse has had to personally purchase the tampons and pads for the school’s emergency supply. A few months ago, a group of women found out about this situation and it inspired them to start donating pads and tampons to the school.
One of these women is Dana Hughes, a parent in Chatham County.
“When we found out that they weren’t stocking them, we were mortified,” Hughes said. “And then with the nurse, that she has to buy them herself, that’s when we said, ‘That’s just ridiculous. We’ll all just buy some stuff and deliver it to the school.’ Every woman that I’ve spoken to has just been astounded, taken aback. When we were in school, there was a machine. If you needed one, you took one.”
New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio recently signed legislation to approve a “mentrual equity” bill, making feminine hygiene products free in schools, homeless shelters and prisons. DeBlasio aims to increase the reach of the movement across the nation.
In order for Northwood to supply one tampon for every girl per month, the school would have to pay a minimum of $1307 when a box of 20 tampons is four dollars. This is not part of the school budget. The group has thought of several ways to supply tampons and pads for the students, but these ideas will require time to work out. For now, the women have a loose plan for how to address the problem: they are buying tampons themselves and asking for contributions.
“As far as collecting money for donations, we have really just done it word of mouth through our group of friends,” Hughes said.
Hughes believes tampons and pads should be part of the budget, whether that be from the school or the county.
“I understand that schools can’t be responsible for meeting the every need of their students, but this is a basic life need,” Hughes said. “As a school or a county or a state or a country, if we can’t meet students’ needs that arise during the day in the classroom, then we are failing miserably.”
Lassen sees the situation differently.
“[It’s] part of being prepared for the real world,” Lassen said. “Because if you went to a job or you went to a college, they would not supply that product for you. And we’re trying to teach our students to be prepared for after high school.”
Some like senior Natalie Huggins also see drawbacks to this situation.
“[Tampons/pads in bathrooms] would be a great thing to have but I don’t know if that’s the top thing we should be spending money on,” Huggins said. “I’m assuming they’re going to be more expensive than one-ply toilet paper here at school.”
The idea of a tampon dispenser has been brought up several times as an idea from students. Principal Dr. Justin Bartholomew was open to the idea, but he had not thought about it much.
“I don’t know if we’d be allowed to do that but we could look into it,” Bartholomew said. “It’s about selling stuff during the school day, there’s board policies.”
In general, girls like McGregor appreciate the gesture of having easily obtainable feminine products, however they can be accessed.
“I feel like I’m in a good environment when I have that availability,” McGregor said. “Someone really cares [and is] putting in that extra thought. Like, ‘Oh, someone might need this.’ It makes my day to find that in the bathroom when I need it.”
– By Meredith Avison
