A Lack of Sanitary Bins in the Women’s Bathroom Stalls of McGovern Lounge
Written by Crista Fiala
“The lack of feminine waste baskets in McGovern brings up multiple concerns for hygiene and privacy,” wrote student Hannah Fitzgerald (Class of 2024). Fitzgerald directly contacted the USJ News Nest to express her concern at the end of last semester. This issue was briefly discussed in “What Will Change After Student Elections?,” but the women’s bathroom stalls on the first floor of McGovern remain without sanitary bins this semester.
“When individuals are on their period or are using feminine hygiene products, there is nowhere to dispose of them properly and discreetly,” added Fitzgerald. USJ is not the only university in the United States to be facing a lack of sanitary bins. Other Student newspapers at Louisiana State University and Northern Illinois State University have also published about this issue on their campuses. Their articles similarly shed light upon how these bins would provide people with a much more discreet and sanitary way to dispose of their feminine hygiene products. Writer Derek Bos at Northern Illinois State University also explains that waste baskets should be installed in all bathroom stalls at every campus, especially since underrepresented groups of non-binary and trans people need to be able to safely use the bathroom stalls.
Fitzgerald mentioned the issue to Dean of Student Affairs, Brandon Dawson, about a year ago and later followed up with an email. She then contacted former Director of Diversity and Inclusion and Title IX Coordinator Rayna Dyton-White. Fitzgerald believes Dyton-White forwarded the issue to a different department, possibly to the office of finance. To this day, however, no progress has been made. The USJ News Nest will look further into this issue and keep readers updated.
Featured Image: Crista Fiala
The lack of these bins leads to an increase in unsanitary conditions of the bathrooms. I had a group project to investigate an issue on campus and find solutions to help aid the issue. Although my solutions were different than the sanitary bins since sanitary bins are normally found in the bathrooms, I had no idea there were no sanitary bins in the Women’s Bathroom Stalls of McGovern Lounge. This should no doubt be a necessary component for female bathrooms. As the article stated if women are on their periods where will we put our products if they do not want it down the toilet? This is pretty frustrating as it shows the school’s lack of attention to women’s bathroom stalls since they were notified of this issue and had not taken action. The school can fund other events that take time to plan but cannot set up basic and necessary sanitation practices? Are women who are on their periods forced to walk and find a different stall and hope they have a sanitary bin? This should never be the case and action should be taken immediately.