Natick student champions accessibility of menstrual products in public
NATICK — It’s a reality that millions of women learn early in life: Menstrual pain causes students to miss school, employees to miss work and people to put their lives on pause.
Daniela Minidis, 18 and a student at Natick’s Walnut Hill School for the Arts, is committed to helping her peers cope with this reality.
“If we can make our workplaces and our schools and all public spaces as accessible to menstruators as possible, it’s easier for us to be a part of the conversation,” said Minidis, a menstrual and gender equity advocate who runs the student subcommittee for the Massachusetts Menstrual Equity Coalition, a branch of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Organization for Women.
The coalition, which was formed in 2019, is an advocacy organization aimed to end “period poverty” — a condition in which menstrual products are unaffordable or inaccessible.
During the last legislative session, MassNOW championed the I AM Bill, which ensures the provision of free menstrual products to menstruators in public schools, homeless shelters and prisons. The bill passed in the state Senate but was not brought to a vote in the House.
Minidis also hopes to bring attention to a bill regarding ingredient disclosure in period products. Research has shown that menstrual products contain chemical contaminants that harm the endocrine system, disrupting hormones, causing an overall imbalance.
Born in Belmont to an Italian-American household with immigrant grandparents, Minidis said her cultural upbringing gave her contrasting points of view regarding equity and justice.
At age 7, she moved to Natick with her mother; in 2022, she moved back to Belmont.
Minidis spearheads trial installment at Walnut Hil
The COVID-19 pandemic hit when Minidis was in seventh grade, which became a pivotal moment in her artistic discovery as she transferred out of Natick Public Schools to an online state program. During her time away from the classroom, she wrote short stories, went on walks and took photographs, which were compiled into booklets that she later understood to be “zines.”
Minidis, now a senior majoring in writing, film and media arts, found her pandemic experiences the foundation for attending Walnut Hill.
Last summer, she returned to campus early due to her role as senior class vice president. During that time, she contacted Director of Health Services Beth Minnucci, who aided her in a 30-day trial installment of Egal, a company that creates period pads on a roll for easy access in bathroom stalls.
“I would say I’m 99.9% sure that the school is going to move forward and really invest in this,” Minnucci told the Daily News in a telephone interview. So far, the rolls have been installed only in the Academic and Technology Center, but should the trial be successful the hope is to place them permanently throughout campus.
Minidis has also been in contact with the office of state Rep. David Rogers, D-Cambridge, whose district includes Belmont. She hopes to expand her activism by connecting with MetroWest students, then reach out to more legislators.
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