“Do you have a tampon?”

This is a question that a majority of girls have or have been asked. While relying on your fellow female classmates normally proves to be pretty successful, sometimes luck is not always on your side and you have to resort to going to the health office. The only problem is, the nurse’s office is completely out…and they aren’t going to be replaced any time soon.

This problem arose at the beginning of this school year, when the company that normally donates feminine products to TUSD, Procter & Gamble, gave the health office less than a third of what they normally do, with zero explanation. So instead of the 2,700 tampons, pads, and liners that we normally get, we only got 70 tampons and 70 pads.

You might be wondering why Sahuaro doesn’t buy more, but there is a reason for this. The health office only gets $3,500 to spend on everything they need. This includes things like ibuprofen, Tylenol, Band-Aids, ointments, and various snacks for anyone who has diabetes or other medical problems. If the school were to buy other products such as pads and tampons, they would be spending nearly $587 to $706 for those products alone.

As expected, the short supply of tampons ran out, so whenever a girl comes in need of some feminine products, the nurses have no choice but to regretfully send them on their way. So to prevent girls from being put into this awkward situation, nurse Sally Duncan encourages people to donate or bring extra items just in case of an emergency. Feeling altruistic?  While probably pretty awkward to buy in bulk, the health office will definitely accept any (new and unused!) contributions.