Not all students are able to afford feminine hygiene products for menstrual cycles. To combat this problem, the Access for Sex-Education club has created Pads for Pals–a project that provides sanitary pads to anyone who needs them.
Students can receive a pad from the Office for Victim Advocacy and Violence Prevention on the Edinburg campus. Pads for Pals will also be offered in the food pantry on the Edinburg campus in the future.
“It’s expensive to buy it at a store, and sometimes you just need an emergency pad, so we wanted to start this project and eventually [have] the school take over,” said Jackie Ho-Shing, community health educator and the club’s sponsor.
Pads for Pals was created by a former intern of Access Esperanza Clinics, a clinic partnered with Access for Sex-Education. The former intern wanted to provide students easier accessibility to feminine sanitary products, Ho-Shing said.
The club is trying to get the university to offer sanitary products in restrooms. The organization took the issue to the Student Government Association.
From there, the club discussed its stance with Dean of Students Rebecca Gadson.
“We’re not asking the school to pay for, like, 1,000 million pads. … We’re just asking that they make it accessible for students who need them so that they can just come in and grab one or two and then they’ll be good,” Ho-Shing said.
The Rider contacted Rebecca Gadson via email last Thursday. Gadson replied, “I did not receive a petition, I received an email last week asking about steps the coalition could take to help get products available on campus.”
Senior club President JJ Gaitan said the organization was able to speak to the dean but were told there was no budget for it.
“We are just, you know, trying to push it as far as we can,” he said.
UT Health Director Glen Gray said this issue has been discussed over many years. Offering free sanitary products in restrooms comes with risks, Gray said.
“The problem with leaving them in the bathroom is who’s responsible for them? Is there any way to guarantee they’re not being tampered with or corrupted? It was student safety, I believe, is the main reason that they’re not just free and in the restrooms,” he said.
However, students may obtain free pads at the health clinics on the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses.
“You walk into my department, we’ll have them for you,” Gray said.
Contributors to the Pads for Pals project do not have to be members of Access for Sex-Education. The club accepts donations of sanitary pads at its meetings or events. The organization also encourages students to sign petitions made by the club.
Ho-Shing said the club may start a petition soon.
“I think if everybody was on the same [page] and if everybody recognized how much of a need it is … the school would actually listen [to everybody] rather than [just] a small group that’s fighting for this,” Gaitan said. “If everybody agreed to this project and everybody fought for it, I think we could, we could push through.”
Abigail Cruz, a psychology freshman, said she believes Pads for Pals aids UTRGV students.
“Not everybody has money, like, for it, so I think that’s pretty helpful,” Cruz said.
Asked how the UTRGV community benefits from Pads for Pals, Gaitan replied it gives access to things that are needed and things that are not discussed.
“A lot of people don’t want to discuss menstrual cycles and how natural it is or the idea of sex,” he said.
At Access Esperanza Clinic, if asked for, a bag of 10 condoms is also offered. The club also provides condoms at its meetings.
“You can come to our meetings and discreetly ask for one; no questions asked,” Gaitan said.
Access Esperanza Clinics purchased most of the pads that the club distributes through a fundraiser. The clinic also offered additional services, including birth control, STI testing, pap smears, diabetes and cholesterol testing and management.
The clinics are located in Edinburg, McAllen, Mission and Weslaco.
“All our services are free [or] low-cost, but for students, most of them get it for free,” Ho-Shing said.
Gaitan said anyone is welcome to join Access for Sex-Education. Students interested in learning what the club is about are invited to sit in at one of its meetings.
The club meets from 12:30-1:30 p.m. every Thursday in ESTAC 1.102.
“Come in and sit down,” Gaitan said. “Listen. If this is something you like to do, or something you enjoy, or something that you would like to learn more about, we’re here for you. We are at your disposal.”
Pads for Pals is not the only project addressing the need for accessible sanitary products.
Brian Dick, an art lecturer at UTRGV, has his students find a social or political problem and address it in a humorous way.
Dick’s assignment is called Socially Responsible Projects. For the assignment, a group of three females and one male, with the team name The Redcoats, decided to address the lack of resources for feminine sanitary products.
Last spring, the Redcoats placed red bowls containing menstrual cycle products, such as tampons, in certain women’s restrooms on the Edinburg campus. Students can either take a product or leave one for the next person who needs it. The Redcoats also distributed tampons personally to students.
“Well, the way I see it is, like all good pranks, it’s calling attention to an issue that affects the community,” Dick said. “In this case, they already as women and students on campus felt there was a need, an unmet need and only they would know about it.”
