On March 6th, Planned Parenthood GenAction had the opportunity to hold its first in-person meeting on campus. This is an entirely student-led group that works with the Planned Parenthood organization to promote several different types of advocacies. The most well-known are reproductive health care, LGBTQIA+ services, and various different political advocacies.
In this meeting, the hosts Renee Chaples, the Campus Organizer, and Leah Smith, the Right-Hand Woman, explained what the group wants to accomplish this year along with what the group has done in the past. There were three main goals they had besides being a safe space on campus. On the top of their list was to host two campus events per semester, which may include bringing back past events. Further discussion included interest in the popular Pie Your RA, Mocktails & Cocktails, Lyndon Pride Week, Burlington Pride, and Voter Registration events.
Pie Your RA was a charity event where each participating RA would pick a type of cancer to donate their earnings to. Students would then donate funds for the opportunity to pie their RA. Mocktails & Cocktails was an event made to promote sex positivity. Attendees were welcome to share embarrassing sex stories to normalize the conversation on campus. They provided mocktails and cocktails that were themed toward the event’s sex positivity.
Lyndon Pride Week brought pride onto campus for LGBTQIA+ individuals. This was held the week of April 25, 2022 and featured several tabling events, informational panels, and small events, such as Every Body is a Swimsuit Body, which was a pool party, and Questions You’re Afraid to Ask, which was a Q&A panel.
PPGen joined forces with NVUnity to get students to Burlington Pride on September 8, 2022 so they could march in the parade alongside other Planned Parenthood groups. Right before elections were happening, they also hosted a tabling event to help students register to vote.
The organization’s second goal was to become SGA-affiliated. This will help them gain more recognition on campus along with becoming an official NVU-Lyndon club. On top of this, it will give them access to the SGA budget to have more opportunities to bring things to our campus.
Their third and final goal was to promote and advocate. This is one of the most basic ideals of the PPGen group, so it is no surprise it is on their list.
Overall, Planned Parenthood GenAction is looking forward to being on campus and has many ideas on what to do to become a more active group on campus. Meetings will be held in Rita Bole Community Room every other Monday from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm, with next schedule meetings on Monday, April 17 and Monday, May 1. Anyone with questions should contact Renee Chaples.