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PAGE 7 • MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2018
Planned Parenthood Generation Action: facilitating conversation about sexual health Emma Berg Contributor
Activism and education are the words that come to mind when describing one of NC State’s newest clubs, Planned Parenthood Generation Action. Their work focuses on pro-abortion rights activism, sexual health information and educating people about their resources. They have been building membership and working with other on-campus groups since the start of the semester. Emily Walter, a fourth-year studying political science, and Karsin Williard, also a fourth-year studying political science, started the club due to their passion for working with Planned Parenthood. Walter is president of Planned Parenthood Generation Action and Williard is vice president. “This semester, our goal was to build our member base and our overarching goal is to get more and more people involved and learn about Planned Parenthood and the ways we can advocate for sexual health and be pro-justice on campus,” Walter said. Walter works for Planned Parenthood, which helped inspire her to start an oncampus club dedicated to their mission. “I intern for Planned Parenthood as a side job and we talked about how we wanted to extend our arm further to college campuses in the area,” Walter said. “We wanted to start that movement here.” Planned Parenthood Generation Action is a national club with over 300 branches. At NC State specifically, Walter and Williard have worked hard to get involved and start making a difference. “It’s important to highlight that we care about so many issues,” Williard said. “Obviously we care about what the core of Planned Parenthood is, but we also care about, support and try to reach out to groups on campus for a multitude of issues.” Some of these events included a postermaking party in order to stand up against any anti-abortion protesters on campus. They also work alongside various student organizations such as with Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Girl KOde event or the Menstrual Education Needed! event. For Girl KOde, they brought supplies and helped facilitate conversation about self-care, relationships and mental health. At Menstrual Education Needed! they worked with North Carolina Public Interest Research Group, We Bleed Red, American Justice Corps, PERIOD and
EMMA DIMIG/TECHNICIAN
Planned Parenthood Generation Action members Karsin Williard, a fourth-year studying political science and the vice president of the network, Kat Kirby, a third-year studying interdisciplinary studies, and Emily Walter, a fourth-year studying political science and the president of the network, work at a table during the 2018 Gender and Equity Research Symposium. The symposium took place in Talley Student Union on April 2, 2018.
Delta Upsilon Fraternity. “We were on a panel, and we talked about how important menstrual education and menstrual activism is for women,” Williard said. “Specifically through the lens of homelessness.” Another area of importance for the club is tabling and providing accurate information on reproductive health and safety. They get their resources such as pamphlets and swag from their Planned Parenthood affiliate. “I think there’s a lot of different misconceptions about reproductive health and part of what we’ve been doing is just tabling and talking to people about it,” Williard said. “We want people to come up to us with questions about reproductive health and access.” Walter and Williard created what some might say is a controversial club during a time of extreme polarization. They are working to create change in the political process. “Definitely being in the South and being in a time where we have a GOP-dominated
president and legislature on the federal and state level effects how much activism we do because we need to do it more and we need to do it for more issues,” Walter said. “I think that the main thing we focus on beyond just campus groups and Planned Parenthood in general in N.C. is to flip the state house because we know that’s the easiest tactic that we have to put officials into office that back up pro-choice policies and pro-justice policies.” The pair said they hope that the club will get students involved in politics and make them pay more attention to policy. “Being able to build a youth power movement can create power that can be transferred into the political process and encourage people to vote in the local, state and national elections because elected officials make these policies that decide who gets access to what,” Walter said. Williard said that students have reacted well to their presence on campus and seem to be empowered to get involved by the current political climate. “I think geographically we need people,
especially young people, that are passionate about reproductive health, social justice and public policy,” Williard said. “Planned Parenthood is such a strong national brand that having representation on campus is a good way to reach out and get people involved.” Both Walter and Williard are graduating this spring and are working hard to make sure the club lasts post-graduation. They encourage anyone interested to attend meetings and even apply for a position in the club. “If you think you want to be involved in activism around healthcare you should definitely come to our meetings,” Walter said. The next general meeting will be Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Talley 4280. Their next event is called “FemiWIN Hygiene” and is in collaboration with the Muslim Student Association, with a presentation from Student Health on women’s health, a question and answer session and group discussion. It will be in Withers 140 on April 17 at 6:30 p.m.
