Emerson College made the decision to allocate $7,000 per year to ensure all bathrooms on the school’s campus, including men’s bathrooms, are stocked with menstrual products, Fox News reports.
The move was made in response to a petition from a student group called Emerson Flows, which aims to fight for “menstrual equality.”
“We are Emerson Flows, an advocacy and education based organization dedicated to fighting for inclusivity, menstrual equality, and the de-stigmatization of menstruation and periods,” the group’s Change.org petition description reads.
The group said the school’s responsibility is to ensure that all campus bathrooms have period products available for “menstruators.”
“Menstruators cannot control when and where their periods occur; it can happen anytime, anywhere, and it will not help them any if the nearest bathroom to their classroom is a bathroom that does not dispense period products,” the group continued.
The petition called on the school’s administration to ensure free menstrual products are available in every bathroom on campus.
Despite the petition only receiving 410 signatures, Emerson College’s vice president of Student Life, Jim Hoppe, granted the group’s request, per a Berkeley Beacon report.
Emily Lang, Emerson Flow’s president, said the school’s decision is important because “men who also menstruate” deserve respect.
“While I understand that the majority of the menstruators at this school are cis[gender] women, we should still treat men who also menstruate with the same level of respect,” she said according to a report from The Beacon. “You get period products just like everyone else, and you get the same amount, because you’re just as valid.”