In March, a group gathered in the middle of Lincoln University’s student union area for a celebration, complete with balloons, music, photo opportunities and appearances made by the school’s king and queen. The occasion? A “period pop-up shop,” in which tampons, pads and other sanitary products were handed out as casually as party favors.
The purpose of the event was two-fold: to end the stigma around menstruation and to provide resources to students who live in “period poverty” — a relatively new term describing the inability to access menstrual hygiene products.
Approximately one in 10 students in the U.S. reported living in period poverty, according to a study by George Mason University’s College of Health and Human Services published in January. But due to a variety of factors — such as stigma and misconception — it often remains an invisible issue on college campuses, said Dr. Jhumka Gupta, an author of the study.
“There’s this misconception that it’s only in low- and middle-income countries and not as pervasive in the U.S. … so we wanted to look at period poverty among college populations because that’s a population that people think is not impacted,” said Gupta.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the study also found that students who experienced period poverty reported higher levels of depression than those who didn’t. That’s significant, explained Gupta, because just as with other basic needs — access to shelter and food — it’s hard to focus and do well in classes without them.
Fortunately, as awareness of the issue spreads, the push to end campus period poverty is being led by countless student groups and nonprofits sprouting up across the country. There’s Project Red at the University of Georgia, The Period Agenda at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the Period Project at Texas A&M University and the organization PERIOD which has chapters across the nation at different universities such as The Ohio State University and the University of Michigan. The list goes on and on and on.
Lynette Medley is the founder of one such organization, No More Secrets, and has begun opening menstrual supply hubs on the campuses of HBCUs (historically Black colleges or universities). Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, which hosted the celebratory pop-up shop, was the first HBCU to welcome a campus menstrual hub, called Periodt, where students can access both sanitary products and educational health resources.
