Hello everyone! We hope that as the first weeks of the semester have passed, you are settling in nicely.
Check out the spotlight below on our newest student group at SIPA, the Menstrual Equity Coalition! They are doing amazing work to make sure that our students perpetually have access to menstrual care.
We also would like to remind you that SIPA Fest is happening thisThursday, September 28th, from 4-7 pm in Ancell Plaza. All of the gender-related groups (found at the end of this email), will be there!
Introducing the Menstrual Equity Coalition, the new student group ensuring period equity at SIPA.
The group “was born outof relentless advocacy for countering periodpovertyright here at SIPA,” says MEC president Aarushi Gupta (MIA ‘24). Thisinitiativebegan with the intention of providing free, high-quality, sustainable period products at SIPA for all menstruators on campus.
There are two options available for period products: sustainable, reusable products and dispensers. The sustainable period product box is located on the 6th floor outside of OSA, and offers free period underwear, menstrual cups, and heavy flow products. Students can also borrow heating pads (located inside OSA). In the 4th and 6th floor women’s bathrooms, there are also free tampon and pad dispensers. If supplies are low or dispensers need a refill, please fill out this form.
The goal of MEC is to “work towards improving access to hygienic and organic period products; infrastructural changes for safe disposal of period products and expanding the options of sustainable period products we already provide.”
For more information on period equity and getting involved, contact mec-sipa@columbia.edu, and look out for MEC at SIPAFest on Thursday, September 28th!
MEC Board Members:
Aarushi Gupta, President
Katha Ray, Vice President
Allie Rubeck, Community Outreach Coordinator
Lauren Stricker, Treasurer
Mukta Gaude, Events Coordinator
Abby Gonzalez, Community Outreach: Advocacy
Ameera Rao, Social Media and Engagement
Upcoming Gender-Related Events (hyperlinked)
Unruly Categories: The Transnational Circulation of 'Transgender’ with
Professor Tara Gonsalves (Northwestern University) | September 26, 12 – 2pm @ 509 Knox Hall
holds office hours in IAB 826 from 1:30 to 4:30 on Tuesdays. Use the QR code below to sign up, and feel free to stop by for a chat on anything gender-related.
Book:Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters – A novel about three women –transgender and cisgender – whose lives collide after an unexpected pregnancy forces them to confront their deepest desires around gender, motherhood, and sex.
TV: Sex Education, Season 4 (Netflix) – The final season of the series following high school students in England as they navigate sex, gender, and growing up.
Movie: Bottoms (in theaters) – Unpopular best friends PJ and Josie start a high school fight club to meet girls and lose their virginity. They soon find themselves in over their heads when the most popular students start beating each other up in the name of self-defense.
NYC Recommendations
Isa recommends:
Mei Lah Wah in Chinatown (Bayard St. between Mott and Elizabeth). Cheap, authentic, and delicious food in the heart of Chinatown. Try the pineapple bun with roast pork: it's huge and under $3! (don't let the line deter you- it goes quickly!)
Allie recommends:
Plowshares Coffee Roasters! There's a huge location on Amsterdam and 126th with lots of space to have a coffee and study.
Check out these gender clubs on Campus Groups & at SIPA Fest (Sept.28!)
