Project M.E.
Project M.E. promotes menstrual equity at the University of Northern Colorado by increasing access to menstrual products, and decreasing barriers. Through the Center for Women’s and Gender Equity, Project M.E. offers students free menstrual products such as liners, pads, tampons, and menstrual cups.
Happy summer Bears! The Center for Women’s and Gender Equity and Project M.E. is live again and back on track. Please feel free to stop by or order menstrual products.
Why Menstrual Equity?
- 1 in 10 college students have experienced period poverty. (Cardoso et al., 2021)
- In a 2021 study published in BMC Women's Health, it was revealed that Black and Latina women reported experiencing the highest rates of period poverty among those sampled. (Cardoso et al., 2021)
- According to a 2021 study titled State of the Period conducted by THINX and PERIOD., nearly 25% of students reported struggling to access menstrual products. In addition, 51% of students also reported wearing products for longer than recommended.
- THINX & PERIOD.'s 2019 State of the Period revealed that 4 in 5 students reported missing class or knowing someone who had missed class, due to not having access to menstrual products.
- In a 2019 study that surveyed low-income women in St. Louis, Missouri, it was shown that 64% of participants were unable to afford menstrual products during the previous year, and one-fifth of women experienced this monthly.46% of the women surveyed could not afford to purchase both food and menstrual products during the past year. (Sebert Kuhlmann et al., 2019)
Sources:
Colorado 2022 Study on Women's Period Poverty, Diaper Need, and Hygiene Poverty
PERIOD, & THINKX. (2021, May 2). State of the Period 2021. PERIOD.Org. Retrieved May 2022
PERIOD, & THINKX. (2019). State of the Period. The Policy Project. Retrieved May 2022
How Can I Access Free Menstrual Products at UNC?
On-Campus Dispensers
Certain menstrual product dispensers have been converted from a cost system to a free system in bathrooms across UNC’s Campus.
Menstrual Product Packs (M.E. Packs)
Order a free, bulk, and customizable menstrual product pack! M.E. Packs can be picked up from the CWGE, delivered to a residence hall, or mailed to an off-campus residence free of charge. To order a M.E. Pack, click the link, stop by Scott-Willcoxon Hall to place a walk-in order, or call the CWGE at (970) 351-1492.
Email the CWGE cwge@unco.edu to request one of our sustainable products.
Small or Large “June” Menstrual Cup
Menstrual cup frequently asked questions- Our Story
In the fall of 2020, Rosie Glaser, who was an undergraduate student at the time, facilitated a movement to address menstrual equity on their college campus. To begin their advocacy, they began the conversation with our campus partners at the Office of Health Promotion and developed a plan to identify funding to begin implementing several ideas for addressing access to free menstrual products. After receiving funding to run a pilot program, Rosie connected with our campus Center for Women's and Gender Equity (CWGE) to further develop and implement their ideas for converting all product dispensers across campus to free dispensing and to offer free bulk products to students. From there, the CWGE became a fully invested campus partner and in the fall of 2021 began the transition of operationalizing this program into a free campus resource being facilitated out of their center. Since then, the center and its staff have focused on the sustainability and inclusivity of this initiative.
- Justice Necessary
We would like to thank Donations for Dignity for supporting Project M.E. through their generous donation of organic products.
Please, visit https://justicenecessary.org/ to visit Media & Press page and to review the results of their Colorado 2022 Survey on Women's Period Poverty, Diaper Need, and Hygiene Poverty survey.
