VOX earned enough money at its Pink Out event to start working on new events to educate students about sexual education and reproductive rights.
Voices for Planned Parenthood, or VOX, is a nationwide program with a presence on the UA campus aimed at educating and advocating for the reproductive freedom of young adults.
Last week the UA VOX club participated in National Pink Out Day, which demonstrated national support for the VOX’s parent organization, Planned Parenthood. The event came in the midst of a legal battle between Planned Parenthood and a number of states.
Anna Keene, a sociology sophomore and the president of UA VOX, said the club’s goal is to “distribute information, whether it be through pamphlets or hosting seminars.”
Keene said she has been involved with UA VOX for about a year and volunteering for Planned Parenthood since she was 14 years old. Keene said she is also currently interning with Planned Parenthood.
“Everything we do is to educate and advocate [for] students on safe sex and reproductive rights,” Keene said. “Everyone can benefit from Planned Parenthood.”
According to Keene, VOX would potentially be setting up a table on the UA Mall and talking with students about sexual education.
Keene said VOX hopes to work with Tucson’s Planned Parenthood to bring a medical professional to campus to give seminars on sexual education and reproductive rights. She said they also hope to hold documentary screenings and a condom fashion show.
Keene said VOX plans and participates in events at the university and in the surrounding Tucson community. The group will participate in AIDSWALK Tucson and Tucson Pride this month.
Kenzie Bevington, a law sophomore and the public relations contact for UA VOX, said VOX gives students a different experience than other clubs provide.
Bevington said VOX provided her with an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington D.C. for the Planned Parenthood Generation Action Nationial Conference, where she said she learned how to lobby senators.
Bevington said one of the group’s focuses this year is “getting men involved because reproductive rights are an issue for all of us.”
Dylan Deines, a junior studying English and history, said he’s “glad that there is a club on campus advocating sexual education.”
The members of VOX said they want to set up a space where people can talk about sexual education and have their questions answered to better inform the public.
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