On Jan. 27, NC State announced the Menstrual Equity Initiative, a one year pilot program providing free menstrual products in select bathrooms on both main and Centennial campuses. The Menstrual Equity Initiative comes after years of advocacy from We Bleed Red, a student-run organization which recently presented to the Faculty Senate on providing free menstrual products.
Mia Connell, an alumni who graduated in 2019, founded We Bleed Red in 2017 to provide free menstrual products for the NC State community and remove some of the stigma around menstruation and periods. Layla Saliba, a fourth-year majoring in psychology, served as vice president of We Bleed Red as a second-year, and became president in fall 2020.
“It initially started off as a Student Government initiative, known as The Pack Bleeds Red,” Saliba said. “We transitioned to a student organization for greater freedom and flexibility, and also for greater access to funding opportunities. The Student Government allowed us to place menstrual products in Talley, but that was it. They were seeing pads and tampons as a personal use item; they were seen as a luxury instead of a necessity.”
Connell said the organization changed its name after the University said it couldn’t associate itself with the Wolfpack. According to Connell, the University also refused to provide funding for single use menstrual products when the Student Government (SG) initiative first began.
“We requested funding for menstrual cups because those aren’t single use,” Connell said. “Then the University, through Student Government, I think promised us about $2,000 or $3,000, and IRC [the Inter-Residence Council] promised us close to $2,000. IRC thankfully realized ahead of time that they wouldn’t be able to give us that money, because both IRC and Student Government run on a reimbursement basis. Student Government did not notify me they would not be able to reimburse us, and we purchased about $2,000 worth of menstrual cups. And were completely left hanging for that bill.”
Connell said, because of issues with the University in supporting We Bleed Red, it separated from SG and became an independent organization. Connell said the organization was “shut out of a lot of spaces,” but was able to implement free menstrual product machines in Talley Student Union.
On Nov. 9. 2021, Saliba and Troi Davis, a graduate student in physiology, presented research We Bleed Red gathered around campus to the Faculty Senate, including Chancellor Randy Woodson and Provost Warwick Arden.
Data from the presentation reflected that of 36 bathrooms surveyed, eight had free menstrual products available. This can affect students’ education, as limited access to these products can lead to students having to miss class, making it an academic issue, Saliba said.
“A lot of welfare programs don’t cover pads and tampons,” Saliba said. “So if a student is on SNAP, or if they’re on WIC, they can’t use that money to buy menstrual products. So that’s why we focused on it because there was such a need. Our activism was at first just with the club, it just evolved locally, and just wanted to give out diva cups, pads and tampons. But there was such a big demand that we realized we couldn’t do it all by ourselves. It’s just something that we needed help from the University.”
Though it came just two months after We Bleed Red’s presentation to the Faculty Senate, when the initiative was announced, the organization was not mentioned.
“This was the first time we were hearing of any Menstrual Equity Initiative at all,” Saliba said. “As a club, we’ve been lobbying for this for years. … I’m very glad that they’re doing this work, and it’s something that needs to be done, but at the very least we should have been credited or acknowledged.”
In a statement, University spokesperson Mick Kulikowski said NC State leadership recognizes the work of those on campus like We Bleed Red and plans to acknowledge it in the future.
“NC State leadership appreciates the efforts of the members of We Bleed Red along with others across the University who have worked to elevate awareness of this important issue,” Kulikowski said in the statement. “The intent of the Jan. 27, 2022 campus communication was to inform the community about the Menstrual Equity Initiative pilot program and generate interest for survey participation. We Bleed Red has been purposefully engaged in the University’s efforts to collect data necessary to launch an effective program, and will continue to be engaged and recognized as the initiative is fully implemented.”
According to Connell, the stigma against periods and menstrual products impacted how long it took for the initiative to be established.
“I think the truth is that a majority of our large donors are highly conservative,” Connell said. “When they see reports of free menstrual products that’s very threatening. It’s threatening to white supremacy dominant culture, it’s threatening to conservative ideals, even though it is in support of access to education and higher education at NC State. This was an initiative that has been proven to not cost very much money to support students to increase access to education.”
Connell said she is grateful to see students continue to press the issue of menstrual equity.
“I’m super excited; it was long overdue,” Connell said. “I cried when [the initiative] happened, just because that’s just something that needs to be a priority in my opinion. Every time NC State calls, I say I won’t donate until they have free menstrual products. And I’ve gotten that call several times now, and I know a few other alumni that do the same.”
More information about We Bleed Red can be found on its Instagram @webleedredncsu.
