Details are hazy, but free feminine products for students have been proposed in a new bill.
Katlynn Mullins | The Crow’s Nest
By James Bennett III
The Student Government Senate was presented the first reading of a joint resolution titled “Free the Tampon” on Sept. 23.
The bill proposes “the creation and implementation of setting up a trial run for free feminine products” on the USF St. Petersburg campus.
In arguments for the bill, the document states that student health is important, women do not always have accessibility to feminine products and the university already provides contraception in the form of free condoms and prescribed oral birth control.
Although the author of the bill, Lynnsey Trantham, was unavailable for comment, senate president Katherine Fishman, the main sponsor of the bill, explained the joint resolution still has a way to go before it comes to fruition.
Fishman said the logistical specifics are yet to be worked out. For starters, SG hasn’t chosen a vendor for the pads and tampons. And, although the Wellness Center is being considered, they are still looking for the most convenient place for students to pick up the feminine hygiene products.
Once more details are worked out, the joint resolution will go to the Senate for a vote. After that, the resolution will go to the policy committee for a vote. If it passes through the legislative and executive branches, the final step would be signatures from the senate president, the Pro Tempore, the SG vice president and the SG president. All four of those members have already shown support for the bill.
The program would likely be funded through Activities and Services fees, but the amount of funding and the channel of allocation still need to be fleshed out.
Fishman said that SG would likely work out those specifics during budgeting season.
Fishman said she doesn’t foresee any pushback on the project, and she hopes it can be enacted by next semester.
She also pointed out the injustice that condoms are already given out to students for free, while they’re left to buy their own basic hygiene products, which can often be expensive.
“Women deserve to be healthy and clean as much as possible. So, it just doesn’t make sense to me why they wouldn’t have that,” Fishman said.
