Moore’s first wines became available for public purchase last week, selling out that day

Holding a bottle of wine up to a computer camera, Alecia Moore, more commonly known by her stage name Pink or P!nk, points out her daughter’s drawing on the cork — “that’s her little butterfly on our rosé.”
Moore has kept secret her passion for winemaking and the wine brand she’s created for over five years, bringing both into the public eye last year. Just last week, 85 cases of three wines from her Two Wolves Wine brand were made available for public purchase for the first time: a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Cabernet Franc and a Petit Verdot. All three sold out the same day.
“My husband warned me I was going to be disappointed with how fast it went,” Moore said in a Skype interview with The California Aggie on Dec. 3.

After signing her first record deal at age 16, Moore dropped out of high school. But upon discovering her love for winemaking, she has now re-entered the classroom, having taken extension courses online through UC Davis and UCLA while on tour, and attending in-person classes at UCLA. Her assistant winemaker, Alison Thomson, received her masters degree from UC Davis in viticulture and attended UCSB as an undergraduate.

Both Moore and Thomson talked to The Aggie about taking the pretentiousness out of the craft, the utter terribleness of Manischewitz and sharing their passion for winemaking with their children.

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The following is a transcription of an interview. It had been edited for length and clarity.

The California Aggie: You’ve kept this project under wraps for the last four or five years — how did it feel to finally bring it into the public eye?

Alecia Moore: Like ripping off a band-aid. It was nerve-wracking, and also it was very bittersweet for me. It was a really fun secret to have. It was nice to be able to learn at my own pace and sort of live this life that no one was really interested in or aware of. But now that we’ve had our first tiny little baby release, it’s really exciting.

TCA: All three wines were just made available for public purchase last week and already all three are sold out — what was your reaction?

AM: It was really fun to watch. But our next release will have more. We’re working out the bugs. And I’m learning how a wine business works, how to launch a wine brand, how to take a dream and make it a reality and make it sustainable. Our dream, for the two of us, is one day our children will take over for us.

TCA: What sort of feedback have you received?

Alison Thomson: People, overall, have been super excited and supportive of it. And I think what we’re doing comes from the heart, it comes from a place of really wanting to create not just a brand, but wines that have integrity and follow the style Alecia’s leaning toward and have personality. It’s not just something to slap a name on and sell. This whole project means a lot to both of us.

TCA: And how would you describe the experience of having something you’re both so passionate about, see it literally grow from the ground up and then see it become successful?

AM: It’s funny, I’m kind of a weirdo, I miss the garage. We started out on a blacktop outside in a tiny little garage that we air-conditioned and it was pretty fun — not always fun. In the last five years, we’ve built an actual winery, we have an actual space that plays music. It’s wild.

AT: I think we’re still not quite there, it seems like we have still more steps to go. We haven’t actually shipped out the wines, for example. The people that have tasted them, we’ve had different tastings where we’ve gotten feedback, but the general public hasn’t really seen the wines yet, so that’s the next big step is getting the wines out to them.

AM: There’s two pendulum swings with this: there’s the winemaker from Bordeaux who comes and compliments us and says, ‘You guys are making really bold choices and it’s delicious.’ And then you have people writing to me saying, ‘I’ve never had wine before but I can’t wait to buy this for myself for Christmas or for my 60th birthday.’ And the part that’s really fun is opening up a whole new world for people who would otherwise be intimidated. We know our shit, we do our research, we do our experimentation and we take it really seriously, but at the same time, we’re also having a blast painting outside the lines.

TCA: For many college-aged individuals, the transition from drinking wine just to drink wine to drinking wine because it’s actually enjoyable hasn’t yet happened. Was there a sort of a-ha moment for you?

AM: It definitely wasn’t around 21 or 22 — think I was still drinking vodka redbull. Honestly, I’d say my mid-20s. I had a manager and an agent and a promoter that are all these fantastic older men, one’s Australian, one’s English, one’s American, and they’ve been around the world, they’re experienced, they had more money than I had and could afford the Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the Bordeauxs and all those wines I would never, ever be able to order. And it was sort of a revelation to me, because I don’t come from money, my mom doesn’t have a lot of money. She’s also Jewish, and we had to drink Manischewitz as a child. And it was horrible, it felt like a punishment and I hated wine. But then learning about different regions and going to those places, I was able to go and see these places and meet people. I guess as soon as you meet a French person who makes wine, you sort of fall in love. And you want to be a French person who makes wine.

TCA: Manischewitz every Friday night is not my favorite part of the week.

AM: It’s punishment! What did I do? I’m eight, why do I have to drink this?

TCA: When did you both know you were passionate about not only wine, but also about winemaking?

AT: I started out in the wine industry in sales, in a tasting room, and I got into it because I liked science, I studied biology at UCSB as an undergrad and I was into agriculture, growing plants, food — I loved cooking and fruit  — my grandma had all of these fruit trees and I was always in charge of harvesting all the apricots and making jam and processing all of the fruit.

AM: No wonder you’re so good at it!

AT: Yeah, I’ve been doing it for a long time. After college, I worked doing restoration ecology, but I also worked in a tasting room and really just loved learning about wine. Being able to taste around Napa, I just realized I really loved learning about wine and the process. And that’s what made me want to learn more. So I decided to apply to UC Davis to get my masters degree in viticulture. I wanted to do it from more of an agricultural standpoint, so I went through the horticulture and agronomy graduate group and was able to get into a lab at Davis. I didn’t have my first winemaking or production job until I went to Italy for an internship while I was in grad school. So I took a quarter off and went to Barolo to work for a producer there. It was there I knew for sure — I loved the work and I loved being part of it, I loved every aspect of it and I knew it was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

TCA: What do you find enjoyable about being hands-on and involved in the full process, from picking the grapes to bottling the wine?

AM: When I first moved here, I got together with the vineyard manager, Ben, and I said, ‘I want you to teach me everything you know. Do you have time?’ And he was such a great teacher. He said, at one point, ‘I haven’t been on my hands and knees in a vineyard this much in a really long time — thank you.’ I started with pruning and I fell in love from the very first moment, I fell in love with the actual work of farming vines. It was something I could do on my own, I could go out in the morning and get an early start. That’s very rare for me. And I could just be in nature. I’m a high school drop-out, I’ve had a record deal since I was 16 years old. So I’ve learned that craft and — they say it takes 10,000 hours — I’ve mastered that craft. That’s my number one craft. But to be a student again, and to be learning, my brain was so happy. And besides the online courses I’ve been doing and the tastings and all of that, to actually get physical and get your hands dirty, it became my obsession, it’s my second dream. One day I will have my 10,000 hours, and 20,000 and 30,000, and then my daughter will take over because my back will hurt.

TCA: Having not been in a classroom setting since you were 15 or 16, what was the experience of returning to the classroom for you?

AM: My brain has never been more happy. I honestly think education is wasted on the young, a little bit. Until you know what you love, it’s so boring and you don’t know how you’re going to apply it to your life, especially if you don’t know what you’re going to do. And for me, it was music, so science had nothing to do with my life. But once I became sort of obsessively interested in this subject, and learning about how much there is to learn — not just enology, but viticulture, and the seasons and the moon and biodynamic and organic, and then there’s wine to drink, too – the fun part. I’ve never been happier. I love school. I’m the best student now, and I was a flunker then. I was horrible, I slept through all of my classes. I wish every young person could find their passion before they have to shell out a shit load of money on school.

TCA: How did you both end up taking courses through UC Davis? Why UC Davis?

AM:  For me, it was easy. UC Davis is revered and I had the chance and the time and I’ll go anywhere. I was able to go to UC Davis and do an introduction to wine chemistry and it blew my mind. I’m a 39-year-old kid who’s never sat through a chemistry class in my life because I dropped out of school before I even got to that part. So it was just mind blowing. And also I knew I could go home and have new knowledge in my back pocket that I could actually use. It’s easy, if you want the best, they say go to UC Davis.

AT: For me, there wasn’t really any program besides Fresno at the time, Cal Poly was just getting started with their program. And so it was the only choice for me — not because it was the only one available, it just seemed like the right fit for what I wanted to learn.

TCA: Alecia, have you worried people won’t take you seriously as an established winemaker either because of your relatively new entrance into winemaking or because of your celebrity?

AM: I’m aware of it. I’m not worried about it. I think there’s nothing you can do about that. I’ve been busting my butt, I’m a hard worker at everything I do, whether it’s mothering or daughtering or winemaking or songwriting or performing. Somebody told me a while ago, ‘You’re going to have to prove the dirt beneath your fingernails.’ And I think that’s a process. I think the wine will speak for itself, if people give it a chance. We’re making beautiful wines and I’m really, really proud of them. I think also the second anyone sits down with me and talks to me about it then it’s just a mutual love. It’s no longer a judgement of how experienced you are, or are you full of shit? It’s: why do you love this? And what can you and I teach each other? I think inevitably there will be people who are like, ‘Oh god, another celebrity winemaker.’ That’s inevitable. But I don’t know if I’m making wine for those people.

TCA: Why is it important for you to have your kids involved in the process?

AM: We’re moms and we’re working moms, and guilt comes with that. And also we love being moms, and I love my family, and I would love to have time with them and be able to teach them something and have them teach me.

AT: I love it because they can see what I do in a day and it’s tangible. They know what winemaking looks like. They know when I’m away all day, what I’m doing

AM: And that you’re proud of what you’re doing.

AT: Yeah, and they’re proud of it. They like to be a part of it, they feel ownership over it as well, and I think that’s really important to stir up that passion and that interest early on, not necessarily that they have to be a winemaker, but because I think it fosters a good sense of work and wanting to work and knowing a work ethic. And sometimes getting that end product bottle of wine takes a lot of work.

TCA: The world of professional wine is so heavily dominated by men — from professional sommeliers to vineyard owners. Do you have advice for young women seeking careers it viticulture?

AM: I think women need to give other women a chance. And I think also women are just as capable in the cellar as men and we can lift heavy shit too. When you’re a woman, you have to work twice as hard. But you gotta put your head down, and you gotta just do the work, and your work will speak for itself.

AT: Sometimes with women in the wine industry, especially coming out of Davis, there’s a divide where a lot of women get pushed into enology — the lab side of things — whereas men will go into the cellar. And I think it’s really, really important for women to get that cellar experience. Understanding and knowing all of those processes in the cellar will make you a better winemaker in the end and being able to do it yourself is really important. Before I came to Davis, I was talking to somebody who was an acquaintance. He was working in the wine industry at the time, and I told him I wanted to get into the wine industry and be a winemaker and he kind of looked at me and scoffed and said, ‘You know, you have to be able to pick up a barrel.’ And it was this judgement that made me want to prove to him, even though he was nobody I cared about, I could do that. When you’re not used to doing that kind of physical labor — Alecia and I are not big people, we’re both under 5’5” — it’s totally possible, you just have to work smarter.

TCA: Can you talk about why you chose the Two Wolves name and how you felt that specific Cherokee proverb connects to your brand?

AM: We live right next door to a 1,400-acre reservation. I heard this parable and it just blew my hair back, because balance is really interesting to me and the spectrum of human potential and this war that rages on inside of each of us. I think the reason why we called it that was because number one, we are wild and two, I believe the balance in wine is just as important as the balance inside of a person. You can make a wine that is a monstrous beast and you can really be a winemaker: you can involve yourself in every part of the process and really put your print on it. Or you can step back and try to be gentle and watch and observe and have hope and be a wine grower. We try to keep them in the middle, sort of balanced and elegant and a wine that you could drink at lunch and not a need a nap after. Because my nature can be very aggressive, I’m trying to be very gentle in this process.

TCA: Where do you both see room for growth and expansion of the brand?

AM: Well we’re just starting out! There’s going to be a big part of this that’s going to be charitable and that was important to me — in order to start a new thing, it needed to do some good in the world. And we’ll see, we’re having a blast. We don’t ever want to be this huge deal. I want my kids to look at it and go, ‘I can do this, and this looks fun-ish.’ I don’t want to create this huge undertaking. Never say never, but I don’t think we’ll ever go above 2,000 cases a year. We’re kind of already running out of space and I kind of like it this way.

Written by: Hannah Holzer — campus@theaggie.org

Yee Xiong speaks out against UC Davis after experience at Southeast Asian Youth Conference

Yee Xiong, a UC Davis alumna from the class of 2015, recently made headlines in Oct. 2018 for winning a prolonged legal battle against a man she accused of sexual assault.

While Xiong has maintained that UC Davis handled her sexual assault case appropriately, when she returned to campus last year to perform a spoken-word piece about her assault at the Southeast Asian Youth Conference, she said a university official forced her to leave the event due to the subject matter of her poem.

Xiong alleged that she was subject to both verbal and physical harassment and her freedoms of speech and expression were violated. Xiong has demanded a formal apology from the university for the way that her performance was handled and has said that she has not yet received one.

Responding to the allegations in a Nov. 7, 2018 email sent to The California Aggie, Mayra Llamas, the executive director of the Community Recruitment and Retention Center, confirmed Xiong was asked by a coordinator of the conference to leave the event “to avoid further triggers and distressing the youth whose emotional safety was our main priority.”

“The University respects Yee’s bravery in coming forward and regrets that its request caused offense to Yee,” Llamas’ email stated.

Xiong’s Story

Xiong is currently employed as a volunteer coordinator at Empower Yolo, an organization devoted to helping victims of sexual violence. A former Asian American studies and design double major, she was active in campus life as a UC Davis student, and worked for Southeast Asians Furthering Education.

Southeast Asians Furthering Education, or SAFE, is a community program at the Student Resource and Retention Center that “centers hxstories* and experiences tied to the Vietnam War, Khmer Rouge, the Secret War and Pathet Lao,” according to the SAFE website.

But Xiong’s involvement in sexual assault awareness advocacy didn’t begin until later on in her college career. Xiong was sexually assaulted by Lang Her, a friend and fellow student, on July 9, 2012 at a house party after a night of heavy drinking. She was incapacitated during the incident but soon reported it to the police and the Title IX commission on campus.

The following account of the legal battle that ensued when Xiong brought charges against Her was corroborated by Yolo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Raven.

The first trial related to the incident occurred in 2015, three years following the alleged assault itself. During this process, Her’s defense attorney accused Xiong of dramatizing her experience in a ploy for attention, and the attorney also insinuated that she had borderline personality syndrome.

The trial ended in a hung jury, with the verdict 4-8 in Her’s favor. The re-trial in 2016, resulted in a second hung jury, 10-2, this time in Xiong’s favor.

Her pleaded guilty to harm or intent to create bodily injury and was sentenced to one year in jail. Due to the protracted nature of the case, Xiong felt compelled to accept Her’s lighter sentencing.

Minutes after she left the courthouse with her family, Her’s legal team served Xiong with a defamation suit from Her’s legal defense team, threatening to sue Xiong because one of her siblings had referred to him as a rapist on Facebook. Xiong returned to court in 2017 to fight the defamation suit, which the judge tossed out in a matter of minutes.

Xiong has now successfully sued Her for sexual battery.

Returning to UC Davis

The grueling legal battle Xiong endured heightened her commitment to raising awareness about consent culture within the Southeast Asian community.

Xiong comes from the Hmong community in Yolo County; according to a 2010 census report, California has the largest Hmong population in the United States.

Xiong’s former colleague at SAFE, Lyia Jalao, who was also present at the conference when Xiong was asked to leave, said that, in some Southeast Asian communities, there is a culture of shaming and silencing those who have been victims of sexual assault and other forms of physical and psychological violence.

In the six years since her assault, Xiong has become an activist and advocate for sexual assault awareness and has remained involved with SAFE.

Although Xiong is satisfied with the way that the university handled her rape case, she remains deeply affected by the incident that occurred when she was invited to speak at the Southeast Asian Youth Conference on Feb. 11, 2017.

Jalao, who was present at the conference, described the event, organized by SAFE, as “empowerment and leadership-based” and a venue for “showcasing academic and artistic expression” for high school students in the Southeast Asian community.

SAFE invited Xiong to perform a spoken-word piece highlighting her experiences as a sexual assault survivor. Xiong said that, before the performance, she issued a disclaimer as well as a trigger warning, given that verbal accounts of such behavior can re-activate traumatic memories for those who have had similar experiences.

During her performance, she witnessed a high-school aged student leave, upset by the content of her poem, and then return around five minutes later. But immediately following her performance, Xiong was asked by an employee of SAFE, who asked The California Aggie that her name be withheld from this piece, to not participate in the Q&A session as was originally planned.

When Xiong conveyed that she felt that this would be a disservice to the other students in the audience who may have wanted to ask her about her experience, she was told that the students were “unable to digest” the topic and that she had “triggered [all] of the students in the audience.” Xiong alleged that the staff member “refused to leave [her] side” until she left the building.

When contacted about the incident in an email, the unnamed staff member stated that she did not escort Xiong out of the event but that Xiong left “after the recommendation was shared with her.”

Xiong said the experience left her feeling “dirty, disgusted, violated and humiliated,” especially since she had been invited to the conference to perform a piece centered around the issue of sexual assault.

Jalao was present at the conference and has confirmed Xiong’s account of the events.

“There’s a long history of shunning from the [Southeast Asian] community and a complete dismissal of victims and survivors and their stories,” Jalao said. “We wanted to show […] that there’s this beautiful resiliency that we all have, and no matter how hard it may be, we need to provide a platform for survivors to showcase their strengths.”

But Jalao’s hopes for the event were not brought into fruition.

“This was a great opportunity for UC Davis students and high school students to see that the institution supports survivors, but that never happened,” she said. “It was two steps backward and not forward. All of the cultural shame and dismissal was repeating […] in an institution that touts moving forward and advancement and all of these positive traits, it’s not what happened at all.”

Jalao said that usually when Xiong has performed her pieces, it has been for adult audiences. From what she gauged, the coordinators of the event were “very enthusiastic.”

“[But the staff member] said that Yee’s performance had not been okayed or approved and that had they known what the content was they would have said no,” Jalao said. “Yee explained […] that she’d been welcomed by the student coordinating the event and that there hadn’t been an issue with the content […] [and] explained that she wouldn’t leave.”

With respect to the content of the poem, Jalao noted that the piece was not “lewd” and described the sequence of events as “embarrassing.”

“She’d performed it many times, and she didn’t go into graphic detail,” Jalao said. “Her piece highlights consent […] [Xiong] was unceremoniously kicked out and everyone was really confused. We felt that the college students who’d coordinated this wanted to talk about consent.”

Seeking An Apology

Expressing similar dismay to Jalao, Xiong said she did not receive a formal apology from the university despite having filed a hate and bias report that included a statement from her on-campus victim advocate.

Xiong related her concerns to the then-Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Adela de la Torre, and a follow-up meeting was scheduled to address her grievances. Present at the meeting were the unnamed staff member, Llamas and Sheri Atkinson, the current vice chancellor of student affairs.

Xiong said she was later informed by a board member at the SRRC, whose name she was unable to disclose, that the minutes from the meeting had been destroyed.

In a follow-up letter to Xiong and provided to The California Aggie dated May 30, 2017, the SRRC responded on behalf of the university.

“This is not something we take lightly, and we will continue to have ongoing conversations with student staff and career staff to prevent experiences like yours, and your colleagues, in the future,” the letter stated, adding that a sub-committee was in the process of being formed to create “best practices” for youth conferences, like the one Xiong participated in.

The letter acknowledged that these conferences are “high risk events” but also said they are “often very rewarding” for participants.

“Our aim for this sub-committee is to continue to work on reducing the risk of these events and ensure that all participants, invited community members, and student staff have a meaningful and safe experience,” the letter stated. “With regards to career staff accountability, Sheri Atkinson has reviewed all materials and will follow up with any necessary appropriate action.”

In an email sent to The California Aggie on Nov. 7, 2018, Llamas acknowledged that Xiong delivered a spoken word performance at the 2017 Southeast Asian Youth Conference and said the “nature of her presentation about her sexual assault and the presentation upset some of those attending, and most of those in attendance were minors.”

“The safety and well-being of all our students and guests on our campus is important, and it remains a high priority for the University,” she wrote. “For additional resources, please visit our Sexual Violence Prevention and Response site.”

A ‘Disappointing’ Response

With no formal apology from the university, Xiong has described UC Davis’ response as “disappointing.”

“It breaks [my] heart to have a space that I worked in be so progressive and then change completely,” Xiong said.

Xiong said that she wants upstander culture to be upheld, and that UC Davis students need to feel comfortable seeking help in any space without fear of judgement or retaliation. She also feels it’s important that people become aware of the realities and obstacles survivors face and hopes her experience empowers people to stand up for what’s right.

For both Xiong and Jalao, the incident is another example of the ongoing issue of victim-blaming and silencing that Empower Yolo addresses.

Jalao acknowledged that Xiong has “the strength” to deal with shaming, but there are others who do not have strength or support to rely on — “this is why victims don’t come forward,” she said. “This is why potential survivors become victims.”

“There have been so many attempts to silence [Xiong], including people from our own community,” Jalao said. “I’m so exhausted by that. I’ve worked with so many Southeast Asian women survivors who have escaped abuse only to find that it’s happening within their community. Seeing this happen again from someone my age was extremely heartbreaking and disappointing.”

Written by: REBECCA BIHN-WALLACE — campus@theaggie.org

Club has voluntarily stocked select bathrooms on campus, is in process of approaching administration with proposal

The UC Davis chapter of PERIOD, a national nonprofit dedicated to the destigmatization of menstrual cycles, is in the midst of a project to stock all campus bathrooms with free menstrual products.

PERIOD’s UC Davis members’ goal, titled #FreethePeriod, is to have pads and tampons available on a regular basis at no cost to students — ideally in all women’s, men’s and gender-neutral bathrooms.

“You would never go into a bathroom and be like, ‘Oh, will there be toilet paper in here?’ or be really excited to see toilet paper was provided,” said Annie Wang, the UC Davis PERIOD chapter club president and a third-year materials science and engineering major. “That’s just the expectation that a public university would provide basic hygiene necessities.”

Hung Doan, a PERIOD club member and a fifth-year graduate student studying plant pathology, approached the chancellor’s office with the club’s initiative and was met with interest about the logistics of the monetary necessities needed for campus-wide free menstrual products.  

“Chancellor May and the office of the chancellor and office of the vice chancellor […] were really receptive of the idea, but they said they need some type of data and cost analysis,” Doan said.

In response, a pilot project has been in effect in which PERIOD volunteers stock campus bathrooms that have high foot traffic with free menstrual products. The goal of the pilot project is to gauge students’ response to having menstrual products made available to them and track their use.

As of Fall Quarter 2018, women’s bathrooms in Roessler Hall, Sciences Lecture Hall, Shields Library, Wellman Hall and the Student Community Center (SCC) have been stocked. The gender-neutral bathrooms on the first and second floor of the SCC have been provided with products as well. Each bathroom has been stocked weekly with 40 pads and 30 tampons.

“Community volunteers sign up for week-long shifts in which they are responsible for the bathrooms in a single building,” Wang said. “They check the usage of products [and] enter the usage into a Google form, which helps us generate a spreadsheet and restock. We’ve had 24 volunteers help re-stock.”

A petition is currently in circulation to track campus support for campus-wide menstrual products.

A survey distributed by PERIOD with 151 respondents resulted in the finding that “34.03% of respondents missed some or all of class or work during the 2017-2018 school year due to lack of access to menstrual products at least once. 47% [of] respondents stated that menstrual products are a financial burden. 90.7% definitely supported providing period products on campus for free,” Wang said via email.

The project was initiated in January of 2018, and the pilot project began in May. Within that time, PERIOD has collaborated with Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS) for funding and help with research to draft an estimated budget for campus-wide implementation.

“Student Health and Counseling Services ran a similar project last year, and now stocks all restrooms in the Student Health and Wellness Center with menstrual products,” Margaret Walter, the executive director of health and wellness for the SHCS said via email. “SHCS is excited to assist the UCD PERIOD chapter in campus wide research, utilizing the Dr. Michelle Famula Fund for Student Success.”

The Dr. Michelle Famula Fund for Student Success is a fund within Student Affairs which, according to UC Davis Giving, is meant to “provide funding support for student engagement, learning and outreach programs offered through the Student Health and Counseling Services.”

THINX, a New York-based feminine hygiene company, has collaborated nationally with PERIOD and has helped the UC Davis chapter boost its signal on social media and in funding.

The club received the funding necessary to begin stocking nine bathrooms in five buildings in May, took a break from its pilot project during the first Summer Session of 2018 and then resumed the project during Fall Quarter. Due to two weeks of campus closure, the project has been on pause.

PERIOD has just purchased 10,000 pads and 7,500 tampons to continue restocking for Fall Quarter. In Winter Quarter, the group plans to approach administration with a proposed budget to initiate a permanent presence across campus.

“There’s been a few times when someone has left a Post-It note or something […] like, ‘Oh my gosh, thank you so much, this saved my life because I was running between classes and work,’” Wang said. “I think it’s those little notes that reaffirm that this is something a lot of students need.”

Club members made a point of stating that their goal is to provide free menstrual products in all campus bathrooms, including both men’s and gender inclusive bathrooms.

“I think it was important for us to recognize that not all people who menstruate necessarily identify as women,” Wang said. “So we wanted to make sure those products were available to everyone who needs them”

Phase One of #FreethePeriod involved the volunteer pilot program and the collection of data. PERIOD plans to move onto Phase 2 which involves getting support from colleges on campus.

According to Doan, PERIOD plans to reach out to deans, stock bathrooms in colleges throughout campus and collect college-specific data on students’ use of free products. Once complete, the information can be presented to deans and the chancellor’s office to determine the project’s permanent implementation.

“Our team is really convicted by the idea that your body shouldn’t be an inconvenience to your educational opportunities especially at a university campus,” Wang said. “So putting menstrual products in bathrooms is a matter of equal access to education.”

Written by: Elizabeth Mercado — campus@theaggie.org