Earlier this school year, you may have noticed period products appearing in bathrooms at school. Since then, the four Academy seniors that made that happen drafted and passed a bill to supply these same products to bathrooms in public schools across New Mexico.

The project began at Academy when Noor Ali, Marly Fisher, Mireya Macías, and Sophia Liem started menstrual product drives, focusing on educating our community about menstrual equity, which refers to the accessibility, safety, education, and destigmatization of menstruation and reproductive care. In her piece on period poverty, or the lack of access to menstrual products such as pads and tampons because of their cost, Liem wrote that “[s]tatistically, 1 in 5 girls have been forced to miss school due to their period.” To combat this issue at Academy, the seniors had a conversation with Ms. Puente, which led to period products getting placed in bathrooms around campus. The feedback from the Academy community was overwhelmingly positive as sixth graders covered a bathroom wall with sticky notes expressing their support.

After their success at Academy, the seniors drafted a bill during a New Mexico Youth and Government conference and afterwards emailed legislators across the state asking for support. Of the about 20 New Mexico lawmakers they reached out to, Representatives Christine Trujillo (D-Albuquerque) and Kristina Ortez (D-Taos) sponsored the bill. House Bill 134 went on to pass various House and Senate committees, and, on March 30, was signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. During the legislative session, the young women testified about their struggles with obtaining and using period products at school as younger students. The bill requires free menstrual products to be supplied in every women’s and gender-neutral bathroom and in at least one men’s bathroom in public middle and high schools, and these same products must be supplied in at least one women’s, gender-neutral, and men’s bathroom in public elementary schools.

Although teenagers may feel that they are unable to help solve major issues like period poverty, there are ways to get involved and support the cause. Macías advised to begin all activism on a local level, saying that “if you understand your community, like your New Mexican community, your Albuquerque community, you’re able to branch out and get those issues on a wider level.” The four also lead a non-profit organization called The Red Tax which supports reproductive and menstrual rights through youth-led movements, so one simple way to take action is to check out their website. Whatever issue you feel drawn to, these four have certainly shown that with drive and passion, change can be made no matter how old you are.