“She must be on her period,” a boy in my English class mocks a girl for simply being passionate. 

“Females are too emotional,” young boys say on Tiktok. 

These statements are some of the many comments aimed to hurt women. The Groves Women’s Empowerment Club has had enough – their latest project has provided free period products to Groves’ students and aims to eliminate period stigmas that still exist in the Groves community. In the past school year, the club has supplied free period products to all women’s and unisex bathrooms. Club members refill the baskets of products weekly, proving that this development was necessary and effective. As someone with a  period, having backup supplies in the bathrooms is a huge relief. I never have to worry about forgetting to bring an extra tampon or pad to school. As vice president of the Women’s Empowerment Club, I know that supplying the bathrooms with free products was not an easy task. It took hours of planning, finding a generous donor to pay for the products, and loads of collaboration. Along with our efforts, other groups in the community stepped up to help. SOS, Schools Offer Support, has made the very generous decision to financially support our project.

 I spoke to Mrs. Sak about her collaboration with SOS on the project. She explained that SOS receives their funds from donations and fundraisers. She also stated that SOS was more than happy to support our cause. 

“The president [of SOS] at the time felt very strongly that those feminine hygiene products should be something that we have available to all students in the building, and so she was able to convey that with the board and the board agreed unanimously that it was something that needed to be done,” said Sak. 

Sak also expresses her own admiration for the project.

“I think it’s a great thing. It’s wonderful that it’s received so well by the student body. I think that the female students have really appreciated having those products in the bathroom and I think that they should be available to all students if they need them at the time,” said Sak.

The efforts from both groups is what made the development into the success it is today. 

Sara Litkoweic, sophomore and Groves Women’s Empowerment club member, shares her praise for the free products.

“I think it’s very helpful for us women here. I’ve definitely used it in times of emergencies when I really needed one,” said Litkoweic.

Another sophomore and Groves Women’s Empowerment club member, Kaylin Arthur, states that she appreciates how the products are accessible to everyone.

The project not only aims to help menstruators in times of emergencies, it also aims to fight the overwhelming taboos associated with periods and other women’s issues. Unfortunately, Groves is not an exception to these harmful situations. When asked about sexist experiences, Litkoweic’s shares a conversation she overheard in one of her classes.

“Somebody said that they enjoy that they have women’s rights here [America] and two boys were looking, sighed and said, “‘that’s gross, America’s not about women’s rights.”’ I just overheard that conversation but it definitely made me sad,” said Litkoweic.

Even teachers have experienced sexism here at Groves. Mr. Wickersham, Groves teacher and advisor of the Women’s Empowerment Club, shares some of his experiences and advice for moving forward. When asked about sexist conversations he’s observed, his reply is disappointing, but unfortunately not shocking. 

“Boys will say sometimes like “oh it must be that time of the month for you,” if a girl is angry at a boy, and we usually shut that down by saying ‘“no, maybe she doesn’t like you because you’re acting like a jerk,’” said Wickersham. 

Wickersham tries to defy the shame associated with periods by being open and transparent in his classroom.

“My biggest thing is to probably stop hiding it. Make it seem like it’s a normal bodily process and function, which it is, and me having products out here in the open and then actually showing me refilling the baskets when they’re empty in front of my classes,” said Wickersham.

I admire Mr. Wickersham’s philosophy, and the efforts by the Women’s Empowerment Club to make Groves more inclusive for all menstruators. The Groves community can expect more from the club, as they continue to work towards more projects aimed to better the Groves community.