Students who attend Loyola Marymount University receive an excellent education, but this education comes with a very high price tag attached. Here at LMU, there exists a major misconception about the student population. Attending LMU does not automatically mean a person comes from a wealthy background.
The purpose of this article is not to inform readers on the different money misconceptions on campus. Instead, I want to focus on just one: periods. My good friend and fellow communication studies major, Catherine Kennedy, has been raising awareness about period product accessibility and the biological needs these products fulfill. All semester-long, Catherine Kennedy, Sammy Corsco, Nora Rabie, and Ellie Magsamen have worked to create a way for students and staff (who may be struggling financially) to attain period products without having to worry about the price!
In an interview with Catherine, I got all the details about how they’re raising awareness on campus, why she’s doing what she’s doing, and her future goals for period products at LMU.
“Attaining period products on campus should not have to break the bank – or your LMU Flexi Dollars. They satisfy a biological need! Given that there are not any period-product dispensing machines in on-campus bathrooms (aside from the out-of-order ones in Pereira and University Hall), suddenly starting a menstrual cycle may leave female students anxious and unprepared. They’re faced with a limited number of options: leaving class in order to not bleed through, having to buy an expensive package at the nearest C-Store and bring it back to class with you, or uncomfortably using tactics such as the old toilet paper stuffing method to get through the day.”
“With all of this in mind, we created the LMU Product Accessibility Initiative. We believe that every student, regardless of financial status, should be able to access free period products on campus. We created the initiative with the goal of reducing period-driven anxiety for menstruating students and faculty here at LMU! We recently hosted a drive and raised over 10,000 period products in two weeks to be dispensed in the LMU food pantry. Any student can come by and take however many products they need, completely for free!”
Feel free to take advantage of the products and help spread the news to those at LMU who may need them!