Wichita, KS- On Wednesday, December 7th, the Student Senate passed SB-65-107, “Funding
Allocation for Menstrual Products”, with a 36-5 vote. There were no abstensions.
With the passage of the bill, funding will be set aside from the Student Government Reserves, authorized by the Treasurer,
for the installation and stocking of menstrual products in 15 buildings in the central
parts of campus. The products will be stocked in dispensers in women’s restrooms,
with smaller display boxes being placed in unisex and men’s restrooms.
The total cost for the implementation of this legislation is $15,730. $10,300 of the
money is a one-time fee for installation of dispensers and display boxes, with $5,430
being the anticipated yearly cost for the stocking of products. The Funding authorized
by the bill comes from the Student Government Direct Reserves.
The legislation does not stipulate any conditions for an automatic yearly payment
to be made to restock dispensers, with the primary sponsors of the legislation indicating
that that action would come later.
Citing the great efforts made to bring the legislation to the Student Senate, President
John Kirk stated:
“This was a project that has been curated by every Executive Branch for the past 5 years. We are now at the finish line and happy to have had the Senate approve this project.”
The bill's primary sponsor was Director of Health and Wellness Noah Carter, and cosignees
were, as appearing on the legislation: Director of Sustainability Alice Fitzgerald,
Director of Community Engagement and Outreach Clarence Albury, Vice President Mary
Elizabeth Thornton, and Student Senators Landyn Patterson and Valeria Paunetto.
To celebrate this successful vote, President Kirk is holding an official signing ceremony for the legislation
today, Monday, December 12th, in the SGA Office at 5pm.
Following the signing, President Kirk has stated that efforts will be undertaken to
have restrooms stocked by the end of the academic year.
This Press Release was updated on 2/2/23 in order to include the names of the legislative
sponsors.