Sustainability Club is providing free menstrual products to Principia College students in need. 

Co-presidents, juniors Ronja Bakowsky and Medara Udoekong started the initiative last semester to provide menstrual products across campus as a number of other colleges have pushed for similar action. 

One of the first steps the club took was allocating part of its seasonal budget for menstrual products, condoms, and pregnancy tests. This move proved successful, as the budget was reviewed and approved by the Student Government.

However, the club was restricted from publicly distributing condoms and pregnancy tests on campus.

To raise awareness, the club organized a drive in the concourse, where various students donated period products, and those in need could pick them up. The remaining items from this drive were distributed in restrooms throughout academic buildings on campus.

“I’m a woman, I have my period, and when you’re in a stressful environment, sometimes it’s irregular,”  said Bakowsky.” And if there are no products provided, it’s just an unnecessary hustle that women and other menstruating people have to face.” 

What motivated her, she said, was a desire to not have to worry about basic needs while working on their education.

“We want students to be students first,” said Bakowsky, “and not struggle with basic amenities such as period products, nor with unwanted pregnancies, which is why we are pushing for condoms.”

A recent milestone for the project has been applying for a small grant from an organization that partners with Principia College. According to Bakowsky, the grant is expected to supplement the club funds and expand product availability to more campus buildings.

Dane Carlson, an Art and Art History professor and supporter of the initiative, has played a key role in assisting with the grant application process, Bakowsky said.

Carlson stated that the grant is expected to come from the  Resilience Studies Consortium, an organization that “utilizes a nationwide network of universities to advance ‘place-based’ educational opportunities for undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds and passions,” according to their website. Principia College is one of nine partner universities and colleges listed on the website.

Carlson emphasized that the grant’s primary goal is to support student-led campus initiatives that promote resilience.

“I don’t think the intention is to give everybody period products all the time,” Carlson said, “but to focus on people in need at the moment and provide them with much easier access to these products.”

“It looks good, but it is still in the approval process,” Bakowsky stated in an email regarding the status of the grant application process.

Senior Ruth Hummell, an active supporter and member of the initiative, shared that she has been passionate about combating period poverty since her freshman year. 

“I think it’s important that women and people with uteruses have access to things that will make their lives and educational experiences easier,” Hummell said.

She also noted that they have received messages of gratitude from students, which has been encouraging, especially when their efforts felt like an uphill battle.

“The idea is that we continue this on a kind of first aid basis,” Bakowsky said about their current approach. However, she expressed hope that the College administration would take over the project in the near future, ensuring it becomes a properly managed institutional initiative rather than a student-run responsibility.