BFA’s lack of essential hygiene products in women’s bathrooms is a problem that needs to be talked about. There’s a stigma associated with the topic of menstruation and needing the necessary pads and tampons for female students.

It’s no secret; women have their periods. The fact that this topic is so controversial means that no one is talking about how there is little to no period products in the bathrooms in each of the buildings at BFA.

To get more information about this predicament at BFA, a reporter from the BFA Mercury interviewed Jodi Walker, the nurse in the south building was interviewed.

Walker is aware of the absence of these products and claimed that she has tried to bring some of these products into the north building in various bathrooms.

“I have tried to bring some in (period products) because we have extra pads and tampons but we just don’t have space,” Walker said. Walker thinks this is definitely something the school and various people need to look into.

Aside from just BFA, several schools and states in the USA have come to realize that schools didn’t have these products that are necessities for these teenage girls.

According to bnd.com, the state of Illinois has required these supplies in bathrooms for grades 6 through 12 at the beginning of this year.

Illinois passed a law that demands these products in every bathroom of every school that started on the 1 of January. Not only that, but the tampons and sanitary napkins are completely free.

“The district now spends $50 a year on feminine hygiene products. There will now be an added expense of putting dispensers in the bathrooms,” Website bnd.com explains.

Michigan has also taken these steps. In 2016, legislation was introduced about this topic – how women’s access to these products is a healthcare necessity.

“Women and girls who are caught off guard when their period starts shouldn’t have to worry about finding a tampon or exact change,” The Michigan state representative, Sarah Roberts, said according to the Michigan Radio website.

Walker wants to follow in these footsteps. She agrees that these products should be free in every bathroom at BFA.

“I’m wondering if there is a place that we could put a basket that we could place against one of the stalls so that we could just have the products in there and they would be free,” Walker said.

Of course there are products available in the two nurse’s offices in both buildings, but it’s not convenient for the girls who don’t want to take time out of their learning.

Due to the fact that one of the nurse’s offices is in the basement of the south building and the other on the second floor of the north building, it’s not favorable for many students.

“Depending on where you are (in the school), it’s not always convenient either coming down to the basement or going to the other building (north building),” Walker said.

Brianna Bean (‘18) has strong opinions about this topic.

“I feel like girls at our school should have an unlimited supply of pads and tampons in the bathrooms,” Bean said. Bean agrees with Walker about the convenience of the products being in the bathrooms.

There are many girls in the school that would greatly appreciate the availability of these products in the bathrooms so they don’t have to take time out of their day to get what they need.

“I feel like our school doesn’t think about that stuff, it’s just not something we talk about,” Bean said.