The university’s recent cut to menstruation products has been a decisive choice that speaks volumes as to how the administration values its students and their welfare. Part of the “tough decisions and bold actions” enacted by Sir Peter Mathieson, the vice-chancellor, to combat the university’s financial difficulties, this cutback feels like a misjudged action, offering little financial gain for the university and pushing the burden onto its staff and students.
In a university with a 62 per cent female student population (according to 2024 data), cutting back on menstruation products is indeed a “bold action” with impacts felt deeply across campus. In the main library, small selections of menstruation products struggle to serve the daily thousands. While the library used to offer menstruation products on six of the eight floors, the cutbacks mean that students must now venture to one of the three floors where, if they are lucky, they may find more than a singular pad. Beyond the library, the cutbacks continue to interrupt learning for menstruating students. During lectures, tutorials, and seminars, students requiring menstruation products may now struggle to find toilets that offer them, taking valuable time away from their studies.
The issue of adequate access to menstruation products within the university is an issue of dignity, care, and understanding for the university’s majority population. The administration’s failure to recognise this has been a deeply disappointing reflection of the dissonance between the student and governing bodies. As discourse around this controversy is growing, there is hope that the university will take the necessary measures to improve access to menstrual health support, as the last thing a person on their period wants to do is trek around campus in search of a tampon.
Image by Zosia Jastrun for The Student
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Bleeding out: What the university’s budget cuts on menstruation products mean for students
The university’s recent cut to menstruation products has been a decisive choice that speaks volumes as to how the administration values its students and their welfare. Part of the “tough decisions and bold actions” enacted by Sir Peter Mathieson, the vice-chancellor, to combat the university’s financial difficulties, this cutback feels like a misjudged action, offering little financial gain for the university and pushing the burden onto its staff and students.
In a university with a 62 per cent female student population (according to 2024 data), cutting back on menstruation products is indeed a “bold action” with impacts felt deeply across campus. In the main library, small selections of menstruation products struggle to serve the daily thousands. While the library used to offer menstruation products on six of the eight floors, the cutbacks mean that students must now venture to one of the three floors where, if they are lucky, they may find more than a singular pad. Beyond the library, the cutbacks continue to interrupt learning for menstruating students. During lectures, tutorials, and seminars, students requiring menstruation products may now struggle to find toilets that offer them, taking valuable time away from their studies.
The issue of adequate access to menstruation products within the university is an issue of dignity, care, and understanding for the university’s majority population. The administration’s failure to recognise this has been a deeply disappointing reflection of the dissonance between the student and governing bodies. As discourse around this controversy is growing, there is hope that the university will take the necessary measures to improve access to menstrual health support, as the last thing a person on their period wants to do is trek around campus in search of a tampon.
Image by Zosia Jastrun for The Student
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