Kilee Holcomb

A broken and empty menstrual product dispenser is shown in a restroom at Fremont High School. A student-led investigation found many dispensers throughout the school are unstocked or out of order, leaving students to seek products elsewhere.

Editor’s note: This story is written in a first-person, feature-style format to reflect the reporter’s firsthand investigation into conditions at Fremont High School.

During my sophomore year, I had an eye-opening experience when a girl asked me for a pad in the restroom. I looked at the menstrual product dispenser, and it was broken, rusty, gross, neglected and empty. Since that moment, I have made it a point to start looking at the state of other menstrual product dispensers in bathrooms throughout the school. I realized it was a much larger problem when we had a pitch meeting in my advanced journalism course, where these questions resurfaced, and I wanted to make a point that this affects students. I started looking around the school, and all of the others were in the same state or worse, making me want to investigate.

I decided to set out on an investigation to solve this small mystery at Fremont High School: why many menstrual product dispensers in girls’ restrooms appear usable, empty, broken or missing entirely. Fremont High School has been around since 1957, a detail that becomes important later in the investigation. While the issue may go unnoticed by many students, it directly affects those who menstruate. I am talking about the menstrual product dispensers in bathrooms that seem available to use but are completely empty, broken or simply nonexistent.

Why does this matter?

According to national health statistics, about 98% of people who menstruate have begun their period by age 15, the age of many high school students. Despite that, many of Fremont High’s restroom dispensers remain empty or out of order. Just like soap or toilet paper, these products should be provided in all restrooms.

To start my investigation, I checked every student restroom in the building to see whether menstrual product dispensers were available and functioning. Out of 11 restrooms checked, five had dispensers, and one was semistocked.

This has been an increasing issue for a while because the menstrual product dispensers’ intended purpose was to be there for convenience and accessibility. My first stop was Principal Myron Sikora, whom I asked about the dispensers.

“Casey Carlson (head custodian) told me he has not ordered any supplies since he started here, and he’s probably been here for about four to five years,” Sikora said.

It is unknown how long these have been empty or not in use, but according to Sikora, supplies for the dispensers have not been ordered for at least four to five years.

“At this point, no one is restocking because the district is not doing that,” Sikora said.

After that interview, Sikora suggested I speak with school nurse Tammy Bernt for more information.

Bernt clarified some information about how menstrual products are currently handled in the school. While dispensers are not stocked, products are still available through the health office.

“I would like to have a hygiene station in our restroom so students would be able to help themselves,” Bernt said. “However, we have also found products unopened and on the floor or in the garbage. This is the reason we hand them out ourselves.”

Bernt said she orders products throughout the year to ensure there is always an adequate supply available in the nurse’s office.

She also noted that Thriftology provides free feminine hygiene products to students, no questions asked, as another resource.

“The dispensers were here when I went here,” Bernt said. “I graduated in ’84.”

That means some of the dispensers have likely been in the building for at least four decades and either have not been updated or appear to have been stocked infrequently. While we were chatting, we discussed the benefits of providing feminine hygiene products in the restrooms.

“People make a pass, or they come in and they say they need a tampon,” Bernt said. “Sometimes they go to the nurse bathroom, but I’ve actually gone in there and found the product on the floor, so I can see both sides on providing them and the machines.”

After speaking with Bernt, she suggested I contact Jeff Glosser, FPS director of operational services. I emailed Glosser to ask about the dispensers and district responsibility. In his reply, he said, “Thank you for reaching out to me. However, I believe Mr. Sikora or the nurse at the high school will have the information you are looking for. Please reach out to these individuals for assistance.”

His response did not clarify who is responsible for maintaining or stocking the dispensers at the district level.

To better understand how students access menstrual products, I sent a survey to all Fremont High staff. Forty-two out of 97 staff members responded and said they do provide products. Now that we are at the end of my investigation, I have come to the conclusion that the dispensers most often appear in older parts of the building, which have seen fewer updates than areas like the commons or CTE wing.

“I think the dispenser should be stocked, or at least have free products in the restroom,” sophomore Zoey Graham said. “Some people don’t feel comfortable asking other people or going to the nurse for that stuff.”

While menstrual product dispensers have been part of Fremont High’s restrooms for decades, many remain unused today. For now, many students often rely on teachers, the nurse or friends when they unexpectedly need a product.

However, questions still remain about who is responsible for maintaining or stocking the dispensers and whether there is a district policy in place for menstrual product access. It is also unclear if there are plans to update or replace the machines or make products more accessible to students in restrooms.