Starting in April, ASWSU along with the CUB, the Student Recreation Center and the Chinook Student Center, will be offering free feminine hygiene products.

Sen. Devon Holze wrote resolution 46-27, which the Senate passed unanimously last night. This resolution called for the executive branch and the Senate to create a feminine hygiene product pilot program for the 2017-2018 school year.

Currently there are product vending machines in female locker rooms at the SRC, and female bathrooms in the CUB and Chinook.

During April, each individual organization will pay the initial costs of the products so there will be a gauge to assess how much the program could cost in total.

Holze initially researched which colleges in the U.S. had similar programs. She found that Brown University had implemented a complimentary product system in more than 50 buildings on its campus.

Holze then created an assessment of need survey that was distributed to students. Of the 286 students who responded, 64 percent stated they did not use the current dispensers because they do not carry change.

Ninety-five percent of respondents indicated they would support efforts to provide free feminine hygiene products to students, the resolution stated. One student responded to the survey saying that access was a matter of “both health and dignity.”

Free feminine hygiene products are currently offered in the Women’s Resource Center, but Holze said these supplies are available only because of donations, and they are avidly used.

The resolution recognizes these products as essential for people with female reproductive systems, saying it is comparable to the need for toilet paper.

“No one ever asks about the toilet paper budget,” Holze said. “So why do we have to talk about feminine hygiene products?”

New dispensers will be put in place in the CUB, along with a sign saying, “Brought to you by ASWSU.”

CUB Director Sean Greene said the CUB would be willing to take the costs out of its own budget if it was a service students wanted and utilized. Greene estimated the program would only cost the CUB $500 to 600 per year.

“Let’s not think about this as a male or female issue,” ASWSU Vice President-elect Garrett Kalt said during the meeting. “This is something that affects 50 percent of us.”