By Charlotte Cochrane

The menstrual product boxes have consistently been empty in many of the bathrooms across campus since the beginning of the semester. The Menstrual Equity Project team has been inquiring with the Student Representative Council (SRC) and the custodial staff on campus to try and find an explanation and solution to this issue.

The empty menstrual product boxes may be a result of students taking more than one “emergency” product at a time (i.e. stocking up on their products), says Erin Mallory, executive director of the SRC, in an email statement. The custodial staff have been asked to keep a closer eye on these boxes and to ensure that they are filled more frequently.

Photo courtesy of Anthony Ouellet

Having access to menstrual products can help students face a rapidly increasing cost of living, as some of them are struggling to keep up with rent, groceries and tuition.

The added stress of affording basic hygiene products like pads and tampons can take a toll on many students’ mental health. The goal of the Menstrual Equity Project Team, which supervises the boxes, is to promote accessible menstrual equity products on campus, to provide free single-use and reusable menstrual products across campus as well as to educate the community on menstrual equity, according to the BUSRC website.

So, while many of the menstrual product boxes have been repeatedly found empty on campus, the team is working hard to keep the conversation alive, destigmatize menstruation and raise awareness of reusable menstruation products.

Kassandre Brouillard, a fourth-year student and member of the Menstrual Equity Project team, said that using reusable menstruation products was life-changing. Some perks of using reusable products are that they are cost-effective, better for the environment and durable for up to ten years.

This means that a student who has access to a free reusable menstruation product (thanks to the Menstrual Equity Project team) will no longer have to worry about budgeting between groceries, rent and tampons. They will now have a decade-long solution to their menstrual hygiene, all while staying eco-friendly.

Since 2023, the team has had reusable menstruation products for free in discreet locations (in addition to the free single-use products in bathrooms), and this year they are working to spread more awareness of the benefits of using reusable products. A new promotional campaign is in the works, and new discreet locations and menstruation products should be appearing on campus soon, and they will be returning to the Exam Care Package event in The Gait this December.

Ultimately, the empty menstrual products are a real issue on campus, but the fact that they are being used is a good sign and means that the intended goal is being fulfilled: students have access to free menstrual products at any time.

Both Brouillard and Mallory are working to find solutions to this issue, including bringing this to the attention of the custodial staff, as well as potentially putting a QR code in the bathrooms to flag when a box is empty, so that staff can be notified and refill it.

The Menstrual Equity Project team hopes to bring more awareness around reusable menstrual products on campus and see an increase in use of these products, as they are giving them away for free.