Feminine products update

Last semester, my article “Girls just want to have funding” discussed the problem of Eastern’s lack of feminine products in public restrooms. Since then, rubbish bins and feminine product dispensers have been installed in public restrooms across campus, all free of charge. This move was brought under the collaboration of SGA Sarah Westmoreland with Eastern administration, and we wanted to share the update. 

“Sarah worked in our offices last summer and did significant foundational work on Eagles Essentials,” Sally Kapner, the Office Manager of Student Development, said. “As part of her work, the need for feminine products in EU buildings jumped out as a big need… Sarah, along with Shelby Sweeney, worked on researching the need and cost of products. My role was really to support what they were doing, make the necessary connections with the vendor and facilitate approval and collaboration with multiple departments at the university.”

“I knew this was something on a larger scale that the school didn’t even know it needed,” Westmoreland said. “I started mentioning it in every meeting I had with administration regarding both Student Government and Eagles Essentials. There is nothing better than repetition.”

The leftover funding from the Eagles Essentials grant allowed Westmoreland to buy quality products in a shorter period of time. After months of research, Westmoreland chose the Aunt Flow brand, which is known for its accessible push-button dispensers that are free of charge and rust-free.

“There was real enthusiasm when the Aunt Flow products were installed and made available,” Kapner said. “Students feel heard and are grateful for the support. I think this was a worthwhile initiative by SGA and am glad I could assist and support them in accomplishing their goal.”

“When I started bringing it up… I was overwhelmed with how positive everyone was about this project,” Westmoreland said. “To our administration, this was an issue that hit home because all of them are female or have daughters or wives affected by the inequity often seen when females aren’t provided with these products… I have done many things since being here at Eastern, and these dispensers are one thing that makes me the most excited about how it will affect generations of Eastern students to come.”