Gender-Neutral Bathrooms Offer Tampon Dispensers

COD Leaders Say Move to Gender-Neutral Bathrooms Will Include Tampon Dispensers

PALM DESERT —College of the Desert is currently transitioning all single-use restrooms to gender-neutral restrooms. Part of that initiative is providing menstrual products to its marginalized students who want to receive menstrual products in a more discreet way, Isabela Veloro, public relations specialist, told Uken Report.

In addition, the College is in the process of implementing signage that will say, “ALL GENDER RESTROOM.”

“We do offer free menstrual products in our health center,” Veloro said. “However, putting those menstrual products in those gender-neutral restrooms allow our students to get those products more discreetly rather than them going to the health center to receive those items.”

The College purchased 94 tampon dispensers at roughly $300 each, she said. All dispensers are scheduled to be in place by July 1. The purchase was discussed at the joint cabinet level and will be presented to the full Borad of Trustees in the next coming months.

Based on the feedback that we got, not all of our students are comfortable going to the health center, Nicholas Robles, public information officer, said.

“Some of them might identify as non-binary and be presenting as a male but may still menstruate,” Robles said. “So that’s one of the reasons why we’re putting these in the gender-neutral restrooms so they can access them discreetly. And like Isabela said, long-term is we want to make these free within the gender-neutral bathrooms, but we’re still working through that because it’s like the initial pilot launch of putting those in there, and so now we’re trying to figure out how do we make these free?”

As part of the prototyping of dispensers, the new gender-neutral restrooms will require a quarter to access products. Based on feedback from Joint Cabinet on the piloting, we are actively pursuing ways to make the dispensers provide the products at no cost in the near future, he said. Once we confirm this detail, we will communicate with students. The long-term goal is to make these products available at no cost to students. To re-emphasize, free products are available from the Student Health Center now, but the distribution machines are intended for those wanting products more discreetly.

The move stems from a Feb. 23, 2023 Academic Senate Resolution that called for College of the Desert to include gender-neutral restrooms in all new construction plans and provide feasible ways to mitigate already completed construction. It also called for COD to ensure access to menstrual products in all restrooms regardless of gender identification of that space.

On January 1, 2022, AB367, Menstrual Equity for All Act of 2021, went into effect that requires the California State University and each community college district… to stock an adequate supply of menstrual products, available and accessible, free of cost, at no fewer than one designated and accessible central location on each campus and to post a designated notice, as provided.

Students wanting to use the dispensers are currently charged 25 cents, Robles said. “We’re working on a way to have a “permanent quarter,” or “token.” We’re still trying to figure out all of that and finalize a system that would work.”

There is currently one cash machine in the bursar’s office, and efforts are underway to have them in more places for students. It is all a   work in progress.

Veloro said the College is not breaking any law because it does offer free menstrual products to students at the health center.

The student health center is located on the main campus and the summer hours are Monday through Thursday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is closed Friday, according to the College website.

Robles said COD has been providing students free menstrual products before the dispensers were installed and continue to offer them at no cost.

“The reason we thought to put some in the gender-neutral restrooms is for our marginalized students who want to receive them more discreetly,” she said. “They may not want other people to know that they need those products. So, it being in the restroom is another option that they have where they can access those products privately.”