For those students out there that constantly decry the yearly rise in tuition, here's one major reason. Brown University students recently fought for free tampons to be placed in all restrooms on campus, and not just women's or gender-integrated restrooms-- this policy includes men's restrooms. USA Today reported over the weekend that "The decision to provide these products follows a student-led effort that argued that tampons and pads are essential, not a luxury."
The students claim that tampons should be treated like toilet paper, as a necessary part of hygienic restroom use. And many students don't have the financial resources to purchase their own. This may not be the worst idea ever conceived for serving female students (though my wife was appalled and said, "They should just buy their own!"), but it does beg the question, "what else could be considered essential?"
I went to school in the Midwest, where brutally cold winters face students each morning for months on end. If a student can't afford to purchase tampons, surely a coat is even more problematic. If a heavy coat in order to trudge across campus in the snow and wind is a necessity, should the school provide parkas for all students?
I've also worked on enormous campuses, where it's pretty much impossible to get from one side to the other in time for the next class. Since students (and teachers!) need to be on time for their classes, should the school provide free bicycles, skateboards, trolleys, golf carts, and the like? I'd love to be chauffeured around!
What about food? Obviously, we can't have students dying of starvation on our campuses. Since food is a clear necessity, shouldn't the school provide free dining? No more meal plans as part of that expensive room and board, right?
Since we are talking about school after all, most classes use some form of a textbook. Those are certainly a necessity in order to maximize learning, so perhaps those should be free as well. Should students have their books covered by the school?
Even if you answer yes to all these questions, and endorse the tampon provision at Brown University, the ultimate question remains: how does this get paid for? The answer that kids don't want to hear, but need to, is they do. With every new program, with every new Center for blah-blah-blah, with every new facility, with every new hygiene product that a campus offers, the students will end up paying for it in their tuition dollars.
Perhaps the most discriminatory part of this story is that male tuitions will rise to accommodate the females, despite never needing to use the product they are paying for. Imagine if someone told the women on campus they would be forced to pay for something only those with male anatomy and chromosomes will use.
While students certainly have a right to make requests to their university and deserve to have their voices heard, they must also be properly educated in how they are affecting their own tuition payments. Next time you hear someone complain about how expensive college is getting these days, just tell them you sympathize with their concern--and offer them a tampon.
The students claim that tampons should be treated like toilet paper, as a necessary part of hygienic restroom use. And many students don't have the financial resources to purchase their own. This may not be the worst idea ever conceived for serving female students (though my wife was appalled and said, "They should just buy their own!"), but it does beg the question, "what else could be considered essential?"
I went to school in the Midwest, where brutally cold winters face students each morning for months on end. If a student can't afford to purchase tampons, surely a coat is even more problematic. If a heavy coat in order to trudge across campus in the snow and wind is a necessity, should the school provide parkas for all students?
I've also worked on enormous campuses, where it's pretty much impossible to get from one side to the other in time for the next class. Since students (and teachers!) need to be on time for their classes, should the school provide free bicycles, skateboards, trolleys, golf carts, and the like? I'd love to be chauffeured around!
What about food? Obviously, we can't have students dying of starvation on our campuses. Since food is a clear necessity, shouldn't the school provide free dining? No more meal plans as part of that expensive room and board, right?
Since we are talking about school after all, most classes use some form of a textbook. Those are certainly a necessity in order to maximize learning, so perhaps those should be free as well. Should students have their books covered by the school?
Even if you answer yes to all these questions, and endorse the tampon provision at Brown University, the ultimate question remains: how does this get paid for? The answer that kids don't want to hear, but need to, is they do. With every new program, with every new Center for blah-blah-blah, with every new facility, with every new hygiene product that a campus offers, the students will end up paying for it in their tuition dollars.
Perhaps the most discriminatory part of this story is that male tuitions will rise to accommodate the females, despite never needing to use the product they are paying for. Imagine if someone told the women on campus they would be forced to pay for something only those with male anatomy and chromosomes will use.
While students certainly have a right to make requests to their university and deserve to have their voices heard, they must also be properly educated in how they are affecting their own tuition payments. Next time you hear someone complain about how expensive college is getting these days, just tell them you sympathize with their concern--and offer them a tampon.