revelarts
02-23-2016, 06:21 PM
I thought this was a fake story but it's not.
a college newspaper says...
Columbia should pay for my period
http://columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2016/02/19/columbia-should-pay-my-period
During the most recent Columbia College Student Council meeting, President Ben Makansi announced that he would reach out to Vice President of Campus Services Scott Wright about providing free tampons to students (http://bwog.com/2016/02/15/no-red-tape-meets-with-ccsc/). The Engineering Student Council quickly followed by announcing they were in partnership with CCSC and also speaking with Wright (http://columbiaspectator.com/news/2016/02/16/esc-announces-launch-new-resource-library-lerner-basement) regarding free tampon distribution.
While this may seem like a peculiar addition to the average student council meeting, that these requests needed to be made indicates the University’s utter lack of support for people who menstruate—a group that includes a significant portion of the student body. Sure, I can easily find a free condom on Barnard and Columbia’s campuses, but why can’t I find a free tampon in the bathrooms in Hamilton or Milbank? Why does the administration care about my sexual protective rights, but not how I handle my monthly menstrual cycle?
Limited access to free sanitary products, along with the widely recognized “tampon tax (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/08/the-tampon-tax-explained/),” is a frequently recurring topic in popular discourse regarding reproductive rights. While California may have pioneered potentially eliminating the tampon tax at the state level (http://www.ibtimes.com/california-tampon-tax-2016-bill-introduced-eliminate-sales-tax-feminine-hygiene-2256628), many people who menstruate still lack the sufficient financial resources to frequently purchase sanitary products. And even if the sales tax is removed from these products, we must still front the cost to pay for other menstruation-related items, such as pads, DivaCups, painkillers, and birth control.
If you were to go to Duane Reade and buy a box of 36 tampons, it would cost you roughly $8. Depending on the heaviness of your menstrual flow, you could potentially end up going through one box (or even more) during your cycle. Assuming a single cycle requires one box of tampons, a person could end up spending $96 a year. And this price only holds if you assume all people just use tampons—most people will end up spending far more on other period products.
To be sure, many students can comfortably afford the supplies needed to maintain a hygienic period. Unfortunately, considering the rise in conversation about low-income students on campus (http://bwog.com/2015/04/24/whats-for-dinner/) and the inability to afford the Columbia lifestyle (http://columbiaspectator.com/news/2015/04/09/columbia-class-confessions-opens-dialogue-about-first-generation-and-low-income-0), it is evident that some students cannot afford this necessary cost. This can lead to unhygienic periods, and even free-bleeding (http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/news/a41402/what-its-really-like-to-free-bleed-during-your-period/). Without University support, many students’ typical menstrual cycle can quickly become unmanageable.
While finances and affordability are important parts of the demand for the University to supply free sanitary products, we should not end the conversation there. We must also work to deconstruct the shame associated with menstruation by discussing what we can and should do for student health on campus. Furthermore, gender solidarity is an essential part of this conversation. We need to encourage male allies to support women’s health care needs even if they may not menstruate themselves.....
the last lines i quote here are kind of unreal to me. um
"...While finances and affordability are important parts of the demand for the University to supply free sanitary products, we should not end the conversation there. We must also work to deconstruct the shame associated with menstruation by discussing what we can and should do for student health on campus. Furthermore, gender solidarity is an essential part of this conversation. We need to encourage male allies to support women’s health care needs even if they may not menstruate themselves....."
umm "may not" ok..
What do you say to that? sheesh, not even married yet.
But is every "private" or "personal" act of personal hygiene now considered a "shame" since it's not something normally discussed openly like a haircut?
In my thinking at least there are NO Human bodily secretions of any kind that are considered good or natural subjects for regular public discourse.
But "shame" is not a word that comes to mind for me here. maybe polite or something. lady like maybe.
maybe i'm just old fashion.
sheesh louise
a college newspaper says...
Columbia should pay for my period
http://columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2016/02/19/columbia-should-pay-my-period
During the most recent Columbia College Student Council meeting, President Ben Makansi announced that he would reach out to Vice President of Campus Services Scott Wright about providing free tampons to students (http://bwog.com/2016/02/15/no-red-tape-meets-with-ccsc/). The Engineering Student Council quickly followed by announcing they were in partnership with CCSC and also speaking with Wright (http://columbiaspectator.com/news/2016/02/16/esc-announces-launch-new-resource-library-lerner-basement) regarding free tampon distribution.
While this may seem like a peculiar addition to the average student council meeting, that these requests needed to be made indicates the University’s utter lack of support for people who menstruate—a group that includes a significant portion of the student body. Sure, I can easily find a free condom on Barnard and Columbia’s campuses, but why can’t I find a free tampon in the bathrooms in Hamilton or Milbank? Why does the administration care about my sexual protective rights, but not how I handle my monthly menstrual cycle?
Limited access to free sanitary products, along with the widely recognized “tampon tax (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/08/the-tampon-tax-explained/),” is a frequently recurring topic in popular discourse regarding reproductive rights. While California may have pioneered potentially eliminating the tampon tax at the state level (http://www.ibtimes.com/california-tampon-tax-2016-bill-introduced-eliminate-sales-tax-feminine-hygiene-2256628), many people who menstruate still lack the sufficient financial resources to frequently purchase sanitary products. And even if the sales tax is removed from these products, we must still front the cost to pay for other menstruation-related items, such as pads, DivaCups, painkillers, and birth control.
If you were to go to Duane Reade and buy a box of 36 tampons, it would cost you roughly $8. Depending on the heaviness of your menstrual flow, you could potentially end up going through one box (or even more) during your cycle. Assuming a single cycle requires one box of tampons, a person could end up spending $96 a year. And this price only holds if you assume all people just use tampons—most people will end up spending far more on other period products.
To be sure, many students can comfortably afford the supplies needed to maintain a hygienic period. Unfortunately, considering the rise in conversation about low-income students on campus (http://bwog.com/2015/04/24/whats-for-dinner/) and the inability to afford the Columbia lifestyle (http://columbiaspectator.com/news/2015/04/09/columbia-class-confessions-opens-dialogue-about-first-generation-and-low-income-0), it is evident that some students cannot afford this necessary cost. This can lead to unhygienic periods, and even free-bleeding (http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/news/a41402/what-its-really-like-to-free-bleed-during-your-period/). Without University support, many students’ typical menstrual cycle can quickly become unmanageable.
While finances and affordability are important parts of the demand for the University to supply free sanitary products, we should not end the conversation there. We must also work to deconstruct the shame associated with menstruation by discussing what we can and should do for student health on campus. Furthermore, gender solidarity is an essential part of this conversation. We need to encourage male allies to support women’s health care needs even if they may not menstruate themselves.....
the last lines i quote here are kind of unreal to me. um
"...While finances and affordability are important parts of the demand for the University to supply free sanitary products, we should not end the conversation there. We must also work to deconstruct the shame associated with menstruation by discussing what we can and should do for student health on campus. Furthermore, gender solidarity is an essential part of this conversation. We need to encourage male allies to support women’s health care needs even if they may not menstruate themselves....."
umm "may not" ok..
What do you say to that? sheesh, not even married yet.
But is every "private" or "personal" act of personal hygiene now considered a "shame" since it's not something normally discussed openly like a haircut?
In my thinking at least there are NO Human bodily secretions of any kind that are considered good or natural subjects for regular public discourse.
But "shame" is not a word that comes to mind for me here. maybe polite or something. lady like maybe.
maybe i'm just old fashion.
sheesh louise