Kent State University School of Communication Studies students are producing a persuasive health campaign to gather donations of women’s feminine products, or money to be used for such products, for the Kent State Women’s Center pantry. This project is for the course Communication and Influence which is taught by COMM Assistant Professor J.D. Ponder, Ph.D.
Students Laura Arnold, Ellen Morales and Susan Tachovsky discovered a need to increase awareness of the demand for free, accessible feminine products for low-income women. They said there is also a need to donate these items to the KSU Women’s Center pantry because KSU students, faculty, and staff rely on them.
Feminine products are not optional for women; they are a necessity. Access to feminine products is necessary for assuring the health and wellbeing of all women on KSU’s Kent campus, the project collaborators said.
These items are highly taxed with what has become known as Ohio’s “tampon tax.” There are two pending bills in the House of Representatives looking to end the tax due to its discriminatory nature. These bills claims that the tax violates the equal protection clause in the Ohio and U.S. constitutions, the collaborators said.
KentWired recently reported the issue of KSU students being food insecure on the Kent campus. Food insecurity means that a person does not always have access to safe, affordable food. The project collaborators believe that food-insecure women may be put into the unfortunate position of choosing between buying food and buying feminine products.
To address this need, the collaborators’ campaign focuses on a few key goals. First, the campaign seeks to raise awareness of the need for access to feminine products for women in the KSU community. The second goal is to promote the KSU Women’s Center and its programs and services. Third, the collaborators’ goal is to collect donations of feminine products and money for the Women’s Center pantry.
For more information about the campaign or to donate to the Women’s Center pantry, contact Arnold at larnol15@kent.edu, Morales at emorale5@kent.edu, or Tachovsky at stachovs@kent.edu.