The University will provide menstrual products across all 670 main floor restrooms in all academic and student-facing buildings, University spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald told The Michigan Daily in an email Thursday.
In November, the Ann Arbor City Council approved an ordinance requiring menstrual products in all public restrooms — the first of its kind in the U.S. The University did not immediately make a decision on whether to follow the ordinance due to constitutional autonomy.
“Providing these products in public restrooms on the Ann Arbor campus is no small undertaking,” Fitzgerald wrote. “U-M has hundreds of buildings that are open to the public.”
In August, the University implemented a pilot program to offer menstrual products in 96 on-campus restrooms. Fitzgerald previously told The Daily this was conducted to assess campus demand and operational costs.
Some members of the campus community expressed disappointment with the University’s previous inaction to follow the new ordinance. LSA senior Olivia Hintz, and president of The Dot Org, told The Daily in a message that she is supportive of this decision by the University but reiterated that the work from The Dot is not done.
“We support all advancements towards expanding menstrual product accessibility in Ann Arbor and can appreciate the steps the University is taking,” Hintz wrote. “If the city is requiring small businesses to provide free menstrual products, the University can undoubtedly afford to fund this effort too.”
According to Fitzgerald, there is currently no clear timeline for implementation, but supplies have been ordered.
Daily Staff Reporter Matthew Shanbom can be reached at shanbom@umich.edu.