CSSA & UCSA: Our Successes
“That’s one small step for man…” and another one!
by Rachael Deng, #FTPCA Marketing
Fresh off the energy of the first National Period Day on October 19th, 2019, PERIOD launched Phase 2 of its Menstrual Movement: #FreeThePeriod. As the steering committee of this campaign’s efforts in California, #FreeThePeriodCA has been working tirelessly since then to achieve our goal of providing accessible menstrual products to students attending public educational institutions, across the state. We’ve made good on our New Year’s resolutions, making steady advances towards garnering the support we need to realize our vision.
Menstrual hygiene is a right, not a privilege.
As a first step, our team has sought to form a robust partnership with the California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) systems, creating a coalition that represents the menstrual needs of students from all campuses while unifying and amplifying existing campus efforts. We have been eager to build upon the AB-10 passed in 2017, mandating provision of feminine hygiene products in low-income schools for grades 6–12, as well as the recent AB-2003 requiring CA community colleges to stock at least 50% of their restrooms with feminine hygiene products at all times.
Such legislature is far from perfect: some states and countries already provide or plan to provide products in all state-run facilities, and a future in which basic period products are readily accessible to all is still hazy. Furthermore, not all womxn menstruate, and not all menstruators are womxn; thus, we want to tackle the 50/50 gender binary and ensure provision of products in bathrooms of all genders. For this reason, our team formulated proprosals which address ongoing targets for improvement and set out to pass these resolutions in the CSU and UC systems.
Not all womxn menstruate, and not all menstruators are womxn.
April: CSSA
Our first opportunity to advocate for system-wide advocacy came at the April 2020 Cal State Student Association (CSSA) Plenary Meeting on April 18th. #FreeThePeriodCA student representatives Annie Wang, Audin Leung, and Binwant Kahlon presented about the coalition’s mission, vision, and relevance to CSU campuses before introducing the CSSA Resolution Regarding Access to Menstrual Hygiene Products in the CSU. This resolution was drafted by team members from both CSU and UC institutions, giving a comprehensive scope of evidence-based information.
After consideration, the Social Justice & Equity Committee approved the adoption of #FTPCA’s resolution, securing official support from a major organization for representing student needs.
May: UCSA
Building off of our CSSA accomplishment, our #FTPCA representatives once again took to the stage to present at the May 2020 University of California Student Association (UCSA) Board Meeting on May 3rd. We introduced the UCSA Resolution Regarding Access to Menstrual Hygiene Products in the UC to call for a statement of support for the widespread provision of menstrual products, complementing our efforts to work through the UCSA and negotiate project funding with UC Regents.
This resolution was passed as well, marking yet another important step in building a strong, unified force to advocate for menstrual equity. The approval of the UCSA, which acts as the official UC-wide student voice, is encouragement for us to continue expanding our campaign.
In the past month, #FTPCA has secured multiple victories with the combined efforts of our team. We’ll continue to engage our diverse audience on every front, whether through policy negotiations or our activity on social media.
Be sure to like our Facebook page, check out our LinkedIn, and follow us at @freetheperiodca on Instagram for fun challenges and Period Facts from our lovely Angel Lin! To learn more about our coalition, visit us at freetheperiodca.org. Stay tuned for more content and updates on Medium as well!
