Editorial: McLean should provide sanitary products for students with periods

OPINIONS SUPPORT SANITARY NEEDS

School bathrooms must be stocked with free menstrual supplies

The staff editorial represents the opinion of the majority of The Highlander editorial board

Having a period at school is a frustrating experience, as there is a need for students to constantly carry extra sanitary products in case of an emergency. Many students have gotten their period when they least expect it or when they are not prepared with pads or tampons, but the bathrooms at McLean are never stocked with these necessary supplies.

Having to ask a random stranger in the bathroom for an extra sanitary product is an uncomfortable experience for everyone.

“Asking around the bathroom is embarrassing and there’s definitely a stigma around periods [in general],” senior Rebecca Weil said. “[These products] not being accessible is a gateway into embarrassment.”

Unfortunately for McLean students, there is little support from the administration regarding menstruation products. Students should feel that they are supported by their school, but the absence of hygiene products in bathrooms does not demonstrate this.

While there are hygiene dispensaries, they are always empty. According to the Virginia House Bill 405 and Senate Bill 232, which went into effect in July 20202, elementary, middle and high schools are required to make tampons or pads available in bathrooms— not just in the nurse’s office or clinic—at no cost.

Principal Ellen Reilly said she sees the need to include these products, in order to ensure that students feel comfortable and supported.

“[People] of different cultures have different levels of comfort with asking for a product,” Principal Ellen Reilly said. “Just to be able to go and have to ask the nurse or come down to ask somebody for it just really puts them at a disadvantage.”

Last school year, products had been stocked in all dispensaries across the school. However, students lost access to these privileges in the new school year.

“[The products] were abused immensely,” Reilly said. “Last year, with [the Committee on] Raising Student Voices, we tried thinking of ways to keep students from doing it, and it didn’t work. The products were stuck on walls, flushed down the toilet and made into patterns.”

Reilly said she plans to stock the blue and yellow bathrooms this school year, but the bathrooms should have been stocked from the start of this year to both comply with Virginia law and show students that this issue matters to the administration.

“Do I think we’re doing the best we can? Probably not,” Reilly said. “If you’re going to abuse it, we’re not going to give more work to the custodians. It really puts them at a disadvantage, and it’s not fair for them.” While students should not abuse the provided supplies, they should still always be made available for those who do need them. In addition to stocking supplies, the administration must find other ways to support students who menstruate. In the modular building, the bathrooms do not have proper sanitary product disposal, only a single trash can in the corner of the bathroom.

The failure to provide these basic necessities makes life more challenging for half of the students at McLean, yet no one feels able to talk about it. In a school as open and diverse as McLean, it is insensible that there remains little discussion regarding menstrual product availability.

“I think that the lack of period products in this school is indicative of a larger issue,” Weil said. “There’s a neglect of menstrual health and women’s reproductive rights.”

It is vital that sanitary products be accessible for all students, but it is also up to the student body to treat their peers and custodial staff with respect.

“We never really came up with a solution on how to solve the problem of the abuse of the few and the impact of the many,” Reilly said. “I want people to know that the people you’re impacting are your fellow students and custodians.”

The administration must start an open dialogue with students to solve this problem, and that starts with providing students with the supplies they rightfully should be able to access.

I THINK THAT THE LACK OF PERIOD PRODUCTS IN THIS SCHOOL IS INDICATIVE OF A LARGER ISSUE.”

- REBECCA WEIL SENIOR

in a poll of 102 mclean students 96%

said all school bathrooms should have sanitary products

4%

said they have seen sanitary products stocked in the bathroom when they needed them