OAN’s Abril Elfi
5:45 PM – Saturday, October 14, 2023
Clemson University students have organized a protest after the University removed menstrual products out of men’s restrooms on campus.
At least 50 students of the university marched the Clemson campus in South Carolina holding signs that read “Destigmatize menstruation” and “Hello, it’s the twenty-first century,” to demand administrators to bring back feminine hygiene products to men’s restrooms.
Even though the restrooms had menstruation products like tampon dispensers since November of last year, they were recently removed after a group by the name Clemson College Republicans argued against them.
The organizers of the protest, Take Back Pride, claim that the sanitary goods were “unjustly” removed from the facilities and are requesting that they be reinstated, as well as that the College Republicans be disciplined for their role in the removal.
Student Organizer Pan Tankersley told the press that queer people are “not just going to disappear ” so that they need to support the LGBTQIA+ community and protect its students.
“Instead of working against us, like taking away menstrual products from the men’s bathrooms, making people feel unwelcomed, there should be support for the community that is already fighting to feel safe here,” Tankersley said. “If anything, the university needs to step up and needs to protect its students.”
Trevor Tideman, the chairman for the College Republican group, argued that they have to stand up for “biological reality.”
“Men are men. Women are women. Of course, men can not menstruate. Of course, we spoke out against that. Of course, these people think the opposite, and that’s why they’re out here protesting us,” Tideman stated. “We have simply stood up for biological reality. They reject what we believe, and so they want us to get removed from campus.”
It is unknown whether the University plans to reinstate tampons and pads in men’s restrooms or whether the College Republicans would face any consequences.
However, Chris Miller, Dean of Students and President of Student Affairs at Clemson, did state that the university supports free speech.
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