Third-year Thurgood Marshall College student Liane Barkhordar is on a mission to help solve period poverty right here on UC San Diego’s campus.
Her action was spurred by an assignment in her Dimensions of Culture course, which is grounded in Marshall College’s commitment to social justice. The project tasked students with writing a research paper about an issue on campus and proposing a solution. Barkhordar’s topic: period poverty.
During her research, Barkhordar discovered California Assembly Bill No. 367 (AB367), which was signed into law in 2021. An existing law required public secondary schools to stock half of their restrooms with period products and prohibited schools from charging for them. With the passing of AB367, known as the Menstrual Equity for All Act of 2021, schools are now required to stock free menstrual products at all times in women’s restrooms, all-gender restrooms and at least one men’s restroom.
While the bill requires the California State University system and community college districts to follow this law, the Regents of the University of California and private post-secondary institutions are only encouraged to do so.
This struck a nerve with Barkhordar, prompting her to investigate if other UC campuses had taken action in response to AB367. That’s when she discovered UCLA’s student-led period pilot initiative. Through her research, Barkhordar learned more about their process and how UCLA’s student leaders worked with campus administration to enact change.
Inspired by her UC peers, Barkhordar took the first steps to start her own initiative at UC San Diego and decided to run for Associated Students (AS) Campuswide Senator. She centered the period pilot initiative in her campaign and went on to be elected. From there, she worked with AS colleagues, fellow students and campus administration to move the project forward.
Barkhordar began her work with a campuswide education campaign on period poverty and simultaneously launched a student survey about period product accessibility on campus. In total, 1,463 students responded, which informed Barkhordar’s approach to working with campus administration to develop and launch a pilot program.
And that’s where the Library comes in.
“I chose Geisel Library as the location to launch the period pilot because it’s a central hub for campus, and it’s a place where all students go,” said Barkhordar. “It’s right next to Price Center, somewhat close to the trolley, and overall, there’s a lot of foot traffic in the building.”
Barkhordar pitched Library leadership on her idea to stock Geisel with free menstrual products and was given the green light to work on an implementation plan with the Library’s Facilities Services team. Associated Students provided start-up funding, and the Library handled installation, product delivery and stocking in cooperation with Campus Facilities Management.
On March 15, 2023, Barkhordar’s vision came to life when she launched the menstrual equity pilot program at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Geisel’s new gender-neutral restroom in the Service Hub. This program makes Geisel Library one of the first spaces on campus to offer free menstrual products.
Now, each public restroom on Geisel’s 1st and 2nd Floors has baskets with free menstrual pads. Visitors can give feedback on the program by scanning the QR code at each location.
Barkhordar notes that “ultimately, implementing this project in Geisel has shed necessary light on the needs of students. This feedback is critical and directs the next phase of the project. As the school year progresses, I plan to work alongside my peers, campus administrators and faculty to install period product dispensers in more campus restrooms and provide free period products for all.”