The Student Government Association (SGA) met Monday evening to discuss the beginning stages of a pilot program to supply free menstrual products to students on campus and the elections to fill vacancies on the senate.
Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion Maggie Calvert discussed how not only women menstruate and people should stray away from referring to menstrual products as “feminine products.”
“There are non-binary folks, there are trans-men, there are other people who menstruate besides women. So I want to get away from the language of feminine products because not only does that harm the groups who are not women who menstruate, it also harms cis-gender women as well,” Calvert said, “because that’s saying to be a women you need to menstruate and those two things are not true.”
Calvert also mentioned that the lack of menstrual products interferes with class attendance and concentration in academics.
Calvert is looking into starting this pilot program with Aunt Flow, a company that sells sustainable products that are biodegradable and do not contain the chemicals that other menstruation products contain. Aunt Flow also donates one menstrual product for every 10 sold, which Calvert said is another reason why she chose this company.
“Menstrual hygiene is essential to a quality education. When period products are not provided in the same capacity as toilet paper, the needs of nearly half of the population are disregarded. Menstrual hygiene is necessary for an equal opportunity at education,” Calvert said. “It is a fundamental human right to discover and reach one’s full potential, regardless of a natural need.”
The motion of support for free menstrual products on campus, as there are no finances involved yet, passed with one opposing vote from Kaitlyn Hazelett, vice president of financial affairs.
The student life survey is projected to be sent out Sept. 23 and end Sept. 30. This survey also includes questions about students’ thoughts of free menstrual products, like if students would be comfortable using their student activity fees to pilot the program, to engage student interest and gain campus support for the program.
SGA also held elections to fill vacancies of the senate. There were seven open commuter positions, two open graduate positions and four open freshman positions. After Monday evening’s appointments, there are eight senator positions that remain open.
Filling the vacancies of the senate, the new members include:
Commuter: Steven Enterline, senior computer science major
Commuter: Morgan Weeter, sophomore political science major
Commuter: Daniel Zoeller, freshman exploratory major
Commuter: Matthew Reitler, junior finance major
Graduate: Danielle Dovgan, second-year graduate student in doctorate of occupational therapy program
Graduate: Tabea Ohle, international student in marketing and management 1-year program
Freshman: Alexis Gish, freshman early education and special education major with international concentration
Freshman: Kyle Mennor, freshman secondary education in social studies major
Freshman: Amanda Reilly, freshman communications major with public relations concentration
In other business, Roots: Growing In Change is requesting first-time funding for their organization, asking for $500 to put towards speaker fees. According to the finance committee, this will allow the organization to start collaborating with other groups, get their name and mission known among the student body and allow their new members to get involved and start learning about food justice. The motion passed with no opposing or abstaining votes.
Budgetary reserves are currently sitting at $8,314.35 and captial reserves are sitting at $14,832.97. SGA approved the motion of Vice President Hazelett to increase the budgetary reserves amount by $71,685.65.
There will be town hall meetings on Sept. 25 and Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. in the Smith Student Center Theater. SRU President William Behre will be in attendance for the first meeting on Sept. 25. If unable to attend the meetings, there is a form on the SGA CORE page that students can fill out with any questions, comments or ideas.
Also coming up, this weekend’s Rock The Weekend event is “A Conversation With Alex Morgan,” one of the captains of the women’s national soccer team, located in the Morrow Field House on Sept. 22 at 2 p.m.
SGA’s next formal meeting will be Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. in the Smith Student Center Theater.
