In order to provide pads for free in school bathrooms, McNeil Girl Up held a pad donation drive from Tuesday, Nov. 17 to Thursday, Nov. 19. 

“The idea came up last year when we had a meeting discussing our experiences with our periods at school,” Girl Up Vice President of Public Relations Rohana Chintakindi said. “We found out that the nurses only limit a pad per person for an entire day and we thought that was unacceptable as it’s common knowledge that one pad isn’t really sufficient. We also discussed how we feel embarrassed to ask people for pads and the anxiety we face when [we] realize we don’t have one. So, we decided to hold this drive to provide free pads in the school bathrooms to eliminate distractions that prevent us from getting the proper education we deserve.”

One hundred fifteen total packages of pads were donated. Donations have been extended to Dec. 1 and more donation drives may be held.

“We got support from not just our female student body but our male student body, staff, and faculty as well,” Chintakindi said.

Starting Nov. 30, there will be baskets mounted to the walls of all four main bathrooms with an assortment of different pads.

“Our goal is to prove to administration that this is very beneficial to our student body and will improve overall campus environment so that we can get proper funding from the district to make this a permanent system,” Chintakindi said.