The Meeman Essentials locker inside the Edward J. Meeman Journalism Building continues to support students by offering free hygiene products to anyone who needs them. The locker provides items such as deodorant, laundry detergent and menstruation products.
The resource is open to all journalism students, not just those facing financial strain. Claire Rounkles, a professor who helped launch the initiative in August, said the idea came from her own experience as a commuter who often needed small essentials during long days on campus.
“People think it’s for people really in dire straits, but it’s not. It’s for everybody,” Rounkles said.
The Journalism and Strategic Media department is also working on adding menstruation products in all the bathrooms as well as creating a resource guide to direct students to additional campus services.
“A lot of students aren’t necessarily aware of these programs that we have,” Rounkles said. “Meeman Essentials is one of those steps that we’re making to help branch access.”
The locker typically sees one or two visitors every few days, but that number has recently increased, partly due to delays in SNAP benefit distribution.
“We’ve had a lot more people over the last week, usually at least one or two people per day,” said Arabella Patterson, a student worker for both the equipment locker and the Meeman Essentials locker.
As the weather changes and economic pressures rise, the types of items students seek have shifted as well. In the first month, most visitors picked up small, day-of needs like deodorant. Recently, more students have been requesting long-term essentials such as shampoo and laundry detergent.
Meeman Essentials is fully funded by staff in the Journalism and Strategic Media department. The staff first donated extra items that they had from their closets and homes, and now they donate items regularly to keep the locker stocked.
In addition to the Meeman Journalism Building location, another essentials locker is available for students on the second floor of the Communication and Fine Arts Building.
Luke Lawson can be contacted at llawson6@memphis.edu.
