WCU Magazine Summer 2025

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

PA’s First Lady Lori Shapiro, Senator Carolyn Comitta, and PA Department of Education’s Dr. Carrie Rowe Visit WCU

Pennsylvania’s First Lady Lori Shapiro, Senator Carolyn Comitta ’74, and Acting Secretary for the PA Department of Education (PDE) Dr. Carrie Rowe visited the University this spring for an in-depth discussion with students about the many ways that WCU prioritizes students’ basic needs in and out of the classroom. Serving up success to its undergraduate and graduate students, the University’s Resource Pantry, which opened in 2016 and later added multifaceted services by aligning with the Center for Civic Engagement & Social Impact (CCESI), offers one-stop shopping for nonperishable food, fresh produce, toiletries, and school supplies.

WCU RESOURCE PANTRY PROVIDES BASIC NEEDS

“No student should have to miss out on higher education and future career opportunities because of food or basic needs insecurity,” said Sen. Comitta, who serves on the Senate Education Committee. “I’m proud of the work being done at West Chester University and across Pennsylvania to ensure that students have the nutrition and resources they need to learn and thrive. I thank the First Lady, Governor Shapiro, and the University for their leadership and support of this important partnership.”

Since the launch of the PDE’s Hunger-Free Campus program in January of 2023, WCU was awarded $60,000 in 2025 and 2024, and $54,399 was awarded in 2023. The much-needed financial support enabled the Center to expand pantry services on campus through online ordering; increase options for students to access food during evening and weekend hours via online order pickup; increase access to healthy and allergy-friendly food; support the expansion of the Resource Pantry at the Philadelphia location; build upon resources to support students in applying for benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); and increase students’ access to off-campus resources.

The staff in the Center for Civic Engagement & Social Impact, which manages the Resource Pantry, also worked with Cheyney University to secure their own Hunger- Free Campus Grant last year and with Lincoln University, sharing information about pantry operations.

“Meeting students’ basic needs continues to be an imperative,” said PA’s Acting Secretary of Education Dr. Carrie Rowe. “Pennsylvania is proud that the students, faculty, and staff at West Chester University have not only made this a priority but are modeling ways that others can do the same across the Commonwealth and throughout the nation.”

THE PERIOD PROJECT LAUNCHES

Meeting college students’ basic needs, however, is not a one-and-done undertaking. The University became aware of another challenge facing its students — accessing menstrual products due to financial constraints. The launch of the Period Project meets students’ needs by providing free menstrual products in highly frequented on-campus bathrooms.

“Period products are a basic hygiene necessity for students, yet too many young people across the Commonwealth face uncertainty about access during the school day or at college,” said First Lady Lori Shapiro. “I was grateful to learn more about how West Chester University launched the Period Project to help provide free menstrual products in campus bathrooms and hear directly from students about how it’s impacting their lives. This program will help us move past stigma, provide essential health products, and give students the dignity and peace of mind they deserve.”

This was a brilliant idea that emanated from concerned students who saw a critical need, collaborated with others, and worked to make it happen.

 

The Period Project was inspired in 2021 as the subject of a global studies minor capstone course taken by alumna Katie Kerr ’22. Kerr led the project’s implementation and, for her senior capstone, collected data on the need for menstrual equity on WCU’s campus. From there, students and now WCU alumnae, Megan Harth ’24 and Lilly-Dawn Harkins ’25, committed themselves to helping their peers secure essential menstrual products at no cost and on a consistent basis. The two were joined in their grassroots efforts by the Resource Pantry, in partnership with the Center for Women and Gender Equity, CCESI, and the global studies minor. The collective work led to a collaboration with Aunt Flow, a nonprofit organization working to end period poverty by ensuring access to essential hygiene products, to mount dispensers with free menstruation products on the walls of the highest trafficked bathrooms on campus.

In spring 2024, Harkins and Harth discussed the Period Project with senior leaders and pitched the administrators about the need for the University to assume financial support for a more permanent network of dispensers, with Harkins later presenting a proposal to President Laurie Bernotsky. President Bernotsky and the members of her cabinet agreed without hesitation. Today, the University’s Facilities Department provides the inventory, distribution, and maintenance of the dispensers on campus.

“This was a brilliant idea that emanated from concerned students who saw a critical need, collaborated with others, and worked to make it happen,” said Dr. Bernotsky. “We were eager to assist and establish a process whereby the University could provide free menstrual products to students who need them. … We will do whatever we can at this University to remove barriers that impede their success. This has been a win-win for our students and our entire community of learners.”

The event included a student roundtable and a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Sciences and Engineering Center & The Commons (SECC), where a new Aunt Flow dispenser was installed in the second-floor women’s bathroom.

“The period project is near and dear to my heart, and I am so thankful for the work that Megan and Lilly-Dawn continued after my departure from the University,” said Kerr. “I applaud the administration for listening to the concerns of these student advocates and taking actionable steps to invest in a previously unmet need and broaching a topic that is often heavily stigmatized. The continuation of the Period Project ensures that no student needs to miss vital class time or carry the burden of basic need insecurity alone.”