Elise Balin
Staff Writer
ASUW’s special project fund offers financial support to supply women with free access to menstrual products in gender neutral, family and women’s bathrooms located in the Union and Classroom buildings on campus.
Courtney Rae Titus, the ASUW College of Education Senator took it upon herself to initiate a project with the custodial departments to provide free feminine products in buildings on campus. Dispensers located in bathrooms inside the Union and Classroom buildings are the beginning of a project that Titus said she hopes to expand over the next few years.
“The topic of food insecurity and food uncertainty on campus spurred me into wanting to do something about this because a third of the student body reported being food insecure. Then I realized there isn’t really data on people who didn’t have access to menstrual products, but one can infer if you’re food insecure, you likely don’t have the money to afford an expensive box of tampons,” said Titus.
Titus said this project gives the UW an extremely unique opportunity to model this resource project for others. She said she has hopes the initiative will slowly begin to set a cultural expectation. The expectation that supplies should be provided for a “biological process.”
This first semester of providing free menstrual products holds great importance to ASUW and project leader Titus. Since January, when dispensers were put in place, ASUW has received positive feedback from students. More importantly, the usage numbers over the semester will help in the monthly budgeting process with the Union going forward.
“Laminated flyers are located on the product dispensers for students to give feedback. We are curious to see if students want us to invest in higher quality products, or if they would like us to expand to different locations across campus. The feedback they provide is extremely valuable moving forward,” said Titus.
Funding for the project was provided by the ASUW “special project” fund, an active fund that allows any students to submit requests for a grant to fund initiatives that will benefit the students of UW as a whole.
ASUW, the custodial staff across campus and the staff at the Union have been key in getting these dispensers put in place and the products available.
Associate Director of Resident Life and Dining Services Kim Zafft and Custodial Services Manager Tod Scott have been two active individuals with Titus throughout this project. She emphasized the support the custodial staff and the Union have provided throughout the project has made it a cohesive effort.
Moving forward, Titus and ASUW are hoping to expand the project in terms of product supply and locations across campus. Conversations with the right people and the feedback ASUW hopes to receive will fuel the project going forward.
