Interview with Mt.A Enactus Period Project managers
When going to the washrooms on campus, you may have noticed little bins filled with pads and tampons placed by the sink; this is part of what the Enactus Period Project does. It is an effort made to help mitigate period poverty by making period products accessible and reduce the stigma around menstruation on campus. In an interview with The Argosy, project managers Erica Chahal and Olivia Mabey shared their inspirations and hopes for the project.
The Enactus Period Project is mainly the placement of period products in bathrooms around campus, but also includes “need bags” in the food pantry on campus and upon request in the hopes of “reduc[ing] period poverty on campus and in the wider Tantramar community,” Mabey said. Need bag requests can be filled out through a form on the posters near the bins, and include products like pads, tampons, or period underwear based on the flow levels of the user.
Fundraising and donations are managed by Chahal. Many donations come from the community; there are boxes around the Wallace McCain Student Centre to collect period products, as well as in town at Dave’s Rock Emporium and Soper Physiotherapy. Enactus also raises funds through holiday drives along with activities on campus like sex toy bingo.
Mabey is the manager for distribution. She helps organize the volunteers to refill the bins around the campus bathrooms. Each volunteer is assigned a bathroom to maintain, and some volunteers are assigned to the same bathroom if traffic is high enough, like bathrooms in the library. Mabey also keeps track of campus bins, knowing when to refill and what items are popular.
Enactus booths can also be seen around the community at Moonlight Madness and the Farmer’s Market to help with the project’s outreach. At these events, the project distributes pamphlets and talks to members of the community about period poverty. “A lot of parents from school-going kids were bringing their kids specifically to our table [to learn about period poverty],” Chahal said.“That’s something that one of our former presidents, Abigail [Austin], really wanted to start doing with the schools, so it’s nice to see that naturally happening.” Tables around the town are also a great way for the project to get donations from the local community.
Mabey joined the project in her first year at Mt.A, after speaking with former president Austin, who helped start the Period Project and who Mabey says is a “very passionate person.” She was inspired to join after realizing that she did not have to be in a club or society directly related to science. Chahal was also friends with members of Enactus in her first year here, and was told she would be a great fit for the project. Chahal also mentioned in high school where she grew up “if you had to go to the bathroom to change your pad or tampon, you’d carry it so covertly, as if you’re carrying weapons… and it was a breath of fresh air to see that wasn’t the case here.”
Chahal and Mabey hope that this project can limit the systemic barriers that come with menstruating. “If people are wanting to be involved and wanting to go to class and they can’t because they either can’t afford a period product or don’t have one on them all the time… it just helps ensure people who are menstruating are not being left out of the community, being left out of their education,” Mabey explained. They hope that projects like this can help get the conversations about periods going, and that mitigating period poverty is not something that should be “put on the backpedal,” said Chahal. She followed up by saying, “It’s nice to see that people are not only subconsciously acknowledging it, but proactively see that it is something not only we support, but something we’d like the community to support and acknowledge as well.”
“Periods are normal. Period poverty is a thing that is a problem, and we need to address it,” Mabey said.