An Ivy League school is putting feminine hygiene products in men’s bathrooms because everyone menstruates?

The following story is not from The Onion even though it will be extremely hard to tell the difference.

Brown University, the prestigious Ivy League school in Rhode Island, is stocking all bathrooms on campus, male and female, with feminine hygiene products. The reason? Everybody menstruates!

Student body president Viet Nguyen has gathered 20 volunteers to deliver the supplies in the name of inclusivity for transgender students. He addressed some “confusion” via e-mail to students:

There’s been a lot of conversation about why pads and tampons are a necessity, not a luxury, but not a lot of action. We wanted to take it into our own hands. Low-income students struggle with having the necessary funding for food, let alone tampons.

We wanted to set a tone of trans-inclusivity, and not forget that they’re an important part of the population. I’d be naïve to say there won’t be push back. I’ve had questions about why we’re implementing this in male bathrooms as well. It’s an initial confusion, but people generally understand when we explain it.

Do the biology professors “generally understand” this?

Brown’s Undergraduate Finance Board is funding Nguyen’s endeavor, and administrators are praising the volunteer’s efforts. The school plans on collecting feedback and data to monitor the effectiveness of the program.

The move is backed by the National Organization for Women. Its president, Terry O’Neill said, “Feminine hygiene products are not a luxury. They’re as essential as toilet paper; just ask anyone who has ever struggled to obtain or afford them.”

“Students’ participation in school should not be hindered by insufficient access to this basic necessity,” she added. “Universities around the country should follow suit.”

I wish we could get back to the days when the only thing essential at an American university was an actual education.