This spring break the University of Connecticut was busy installing free menstrual products, including pads and tampons, in about 100 bathrooms across the Storrs campus. This is the culmination of a long-term effort by the Student Services, Facilities and Operations, Period@UConn and UConn Student Government.
The receptacles and dispensers were installed for students in collaboration with Citron Hygiene and UConn Facilities and Operations department, according to Cindi Costanzo, associate vice president for student life.
“Facilities and Operations have been a big help and are integral in running the logistical side of this project,” Costanzo said.
According to Director of Student Services Jibreel Akbar, an eighth-semester political science and psychology major, most of the work going forward will be done by Citron Hygiene.
“The company installs the machines and stocks the products. The idea is that after UConn pays a one-time fee, they do the restock in a morning run of the bathrooms,” Akbar said.
Costanzo said that this is an expansion by the university on Public Act No. 23-160, which states, “each local and regional board of education shall provide free menstrual products… in women’s restrooms [and] all-gender restrooms.”
Although this act only mandates free menstrual products for K-12 schools, Costanzo said “it would be a good step forward to implement” at UConn.
The bathrooms that are currently being targeted are in high traffic areas, according to Akbar. These areas include the Student Recreation Center, the Student Union and Lawrence D. McHugh Hall.
The products are currently in female and gender-neutral restrooms across campus. Akbar said that it was important to have products in gender-neutral restrooms for transgender students.
The products are currently installed only on the Storrs campus, however, Cintron Hygiene has provided UConn with additional products for regional campuses, according to Costanzo. These products will be available to students at these campuses at Husky Harvest locations, free of charge.
In the future, the program locations may change. According to Costanzo, the university, along with Cintron Hygiene, will collect data on usage to reassess in a year to make sure to target the most high-traffic areas.
Long-term funding has been secured for this project, according to Costanzo, and it will be managed day to day by Facilities and Operations.
“It is always great to intervene early on and find funding to create a program with a good outcome,” Costanzo said.