The Student Association collected 386 menstrual products, as of Wednesday afternoon, since starting a menstrual product drive on Oct. 21.
The drive, which will last until Nov. 8, is part of a SUNY SA initiative to encourage all SUNY schools to participate, according to SA Chief of Staff Eric Rooney. Now, through a collective effort by Rooney, SA Vice President Georgia Hulbert and SA Assistant Director of Health and Wellness Matthew Taboni, SA brought the drive to UB and is collecting menstrual products from students and SA clubs in hopes of stocking UB’s food pantry.
“So with food pantries, people don’t really know that they also have menstrual products for people and they don’t get enough menstrual product [donations],” Rooney said. “Putting on a menstrual hygiene drive, by itself, is probably the best way to go.”
Rooney, Hulbert and Taboni have reached out to local food pantries, including UB’s Blue Table, and hope to donate the products before Thanksgiving, according to Taboni. They will not place the products in UB bathrooms, since there are already free tampons and pads in bathrooms across campus.
“We’re still trying to determine where exactly [the donations] might be going, there is talk about possibly linking it with Blue Table and trying to have a time for Blue Table to donate [them] to the UB students,” Taboni said. “But if Blue Table isn’t willing to take [the products], were going to reach out to more organizations, council relations or pantries that need more hygiene products.”
Although the coordinators didn’t set a specific goal, Taboni said they have received more donations than he expected, and have already filled two shelves in the last week.
SA will also be hosting a thrift-store-style coat drive toward the end of the semester, along with a Student Life Committee Drive in partnership with Faculty Student Senate toward the end of November.
UB community members who want to contribute can bring donations to SU 350.
Alexandra Moyen is the news editor and can be reached at alexandra.moyen@ubspectrum.com and @AlexandraMoyen.
Alexandra Moyen is the senior features editor of The Spectrum.
