Shaye Phillips, Features Editor–
It’s that time of the month again. Every person with a uterus understands this.
Many women and girls struggle monthly with abdominal pains, bloating, PMS, and the many other various side effects of the irritating, but natural, menstrual period.
My pressing concern, on top of all of these other ailments, is: do I have enough pads?
Underneath my bed I store various pad types, from thin pantyliners to overnight extra heavies, and despite this, it is still difficult to remember to stock up when supply runs low. Denison’s campus provides a lot of health amenities, but one product they’re missing happens to be crucial for period emergencies.
There is normally a tampon dispenser in every bathroom, but it’s empty half the time. Occasionally you can find a small container of stray pads, but it’s very unlikely, especially in the older academic buildings. While tampons are usually more accessible, only places like the dining halls and the library offer free pads in bulk.
Tampons have never sounded extremely comfortable to me. A study done in 2023 by Harvard’s School for Public Health showed that tampons were a bit more preferred over pads, with 47% saying tampons and 46% saying pads. Tampons seem to be the product of choice, especially among athletes, but there should be nothing wrong with choosing a sanitary napkin instead.
Even if all of the tampon supporters say otherwise, I would rather use what works for me and my body. Not to say that walking around classes and constantly monitoring pad changes isn’t a pain. Constantly having to go into a bathroom to check for pads is time-consuming. Pulling off a pad change before every class also expends my much-needed stash far too quickly.
Periods do not come cheap. On average, an American woman can pay up to $20 on products per menstrual cycle. My box of pads probably costs over $40, which is insane if you think about how many other things one could spend that money on.
Scrambling to conserve pads in order to prolong their usage is not an option most of the time. That’s why relying on the school bathrooms would be a significant relief from that stress.
Tampons are a fine choice to have on hand for female students, but is it that difficult to add some extra pads too? This would preferably include pads of different degrees of thickness.
Those paper-thin light pads don’t do anything for heavy flow. More often than not, they lead to a change of pants and minor humiliation. Walking around with a jacket around the waist is not ideal, knowing a stain of shame is hidden underneath.
Denison buys its pads from this cheap-looking brand called Naturelle. A quick Google search confirms that this is not a very mainstream brand. You can buy a box in bulk from Staples for $42.09. It feels bizarre to wear a pad bought from an office supply store.
My high school always used top-quality, trusted brands like Always and U by Kotex. Pads were donated to my school via the teachers and parents due to the school not having a big budget. With millions of dollars to spare, Denison should be able to find money for weekly pad and tampon restocks.
While there is a Planned Parenthood club on campus, it would be nice to know whether or not they’re aware of this menstrual product problem. Even though the organization may be more focused on promoting sexual rights than menstrual care, these products should still fall under that umbrella.
Birth control and condoms are definitely a must-have on campus, but there should be tabling that gives out pads and tampons too. Sex Week at Denison would provide a wonderful opportunity for a free menstrual product giveaway.
In the future, hopefully the tampon and pad issue won’t go unnoticed. With all the progress being made around promoting awareness and acceptance around periods, women at Denison should not feel disparaged by an absence of something they need. Women’s care and health, no matter how large or small, is being negatively impacted and challenged every day. Denison tries its best to advertise care for its students, but this problem really seems like such a simple fix.
Never should any of the tampon dispensers and pad bins be empty. The next time I step into a bathroom to find an absence of pads, I’ll be whipping out the old toilet paper trick. It’s truly better than nothing.