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Vox History at LSU

Vox: Voices for Planned Parenthood

Louisiana State University

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Vox History at LSU

Vox: Voices for Planned Parenthood

Louisiana State University

The Louisiana State University Vox: Voices for Planned Parenthood chapter was formed in 2005. Our members are committed to spreading awareness about Planned Parenthood’s mission and participating in activism that protects a woman’s right to choose. So far, we have made a great impact on campus. Our events that have been successful include:

Vox’s Coming Out Party: Potluck for Choice

The Potluck for Choice was the first event that kicked off our semester. Since Vox is currently the only pro-choice group at LSU, the potluck helped us achieve a core membership and identify activists in the LSU community.

“Dress as Your Favorite Contraception!”

On Halloween, Vox members dressed as their favorite form of birth control to raise awareness about the need for prevention and contraception. We tabled in our university’s “free speech alley” and handed out information about birth control and asked students to sign petitions supporting comprehensive sex education in Louisiana high schools and safe access to contraception.

The Education of Shelby Knox

Vox held a movie night and showed the popular documentary, The Education of Shelby Knox. The film allowed us to open up discussion about comprehensive sex education. Julie Mickelberry, Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood of Louisiana and Mississippi Delta, facilitated discussion and encouraged students to discuss their own experiences with abstinence-only education in high school.

World AIDS Day

On Friday, December 1, World AIDS Day, Vox members made heart-shaped condom packets to hand out to students. The hearts had the motto “Stay Safe LSU” on the front and included information about Baton Rouge’s increasingly devastating AIDS statistics.

Spirituality and Reproductive Freedom Discussion Series:

This three-part series, funded by a grant from Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom, features representatives from local religious institutions, schools, and healthcare providers who will lead a positive dialogue focused on issues of religious faith and reproductive freedoms.

Stem Cell Research: Giving Life or Taking Life?

Panelists included Dr. Jeffrey Gimble of the stem cell biology laboratory at Pennington Biomedical Research Institute, Noelie Day of University Presbyterian Church, and Rabbi Stanton Zamek of Beth Shalom Synagogue. The panel covered the scientific side of stem cell research and actual procedures utilized, as well as the moral and ethical responsibilities associated with using these technologies to cure devastating illnesses.

Sex Education: Too Much or Not Enough?

Panelists included Jessica Gray, Director of Religious Education for the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge, Steve Caldwell, instructor of “Our Whole Lives” program on comprehensive sexuality education at the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge, and Meghan Greeley of the Planned Parenthood of Louisiana. The panel addressed the distinction between abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education as well as the abstinence-only programs currently endorsed by Governor Blanco. The presentations focused on the importance of comprehensive sexuality education and the connections between sexuality, faith, spirituality, and morality.

Special Presentation:
Abstinence Comes to Albuquerque

Steve Caldwell or the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge hosted the film, which provided a glimpse into a nationwide debate over what young people should be taught about sexuality. Through personal stories, community profiles, and expert interviews, the program highlighted the differences between a strict abstinence-only-until-marriage approach and more comprehensive sexuality education. In the documentary film a ninth grader tells her mother that she’s heard some unusual things from a sexuality education program in her school. The family talks about their problems with the program, and a school board member speaks about its weaknesses. The film then profiles an abstinence-only-until-marriage program as well as a more balanced sexuality education program.

Can You Choose Choice?: Religion and the
Pro-Choice Movement

Panelists included Rabbi Barry Weinstein of Congregation B’nai Israel, Rev. Steve Crump of the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge, and Dr. Holley Galland of Earl K. Long Hospital and the Planned Parenthood of Louisiana Board of Directors. The panel addressed the fundamental importance of a woman’s right to choose and how this issue is not innately conflictual with religious or spiritual beliefs.

Vox Bar Crawl

In an effort to reach the greater Baton Rouge communiy, Vox members, with the help of the Planned Parenthood Baton Rouge Clinic participated in a re-St. Paddy's Day Bar Crawl. Members hopped around local bars handing out beaded "lucky charms" with condoms.

Back Up Your Birth Control Day Tuesday March 20th

With Emergency Contraception, women have a second chance to prevent an unintended pregnancy. Emergency Contraception (EC) – also known as the morning after pill – is a back-up method of birth control. Effective up to 120 hours after intercourse, EC is available without a prescription to women and men 18 and older. Women younger than 18 need a prescription from their doctor or other health care provider.

For more information, including a list of local pharmacies that carry EC, see Emergency Contraception: A User's Guide.

In addition to these events, Vox members also participated in weekly tabling sessions in LSU’s “free speech alley” to get petitions signed and increase our membership.