Em-URGE-ing Voices

Georgia Southern University Increases Campus Pressure Over Sexual Assaults and Abortion Access

This semester our chapter at Georgia Southern University has been making change on campus on many fronts. First, back in February, the chapter co-hosted a successful Take Back the Night event, leading a huge group of students in a march across campus to raise awareness about sexual assault at their school. Check out one of our student leaders, Carmen Gray, in this video from the event. Then, in April, Georgia Southern hosted a high energy stop of the #AbortionPositive tour, collecting more than 300 petition signatures in just a few hours. In these last few weeks of the semester, this chapter isn’t cruising into summer yet, they are hosting voter registration events and planning for next year.

Welcome Alabama State University!

It’s official: Our first HBCU (historically black college or university) chapter is up and running! We are so excite to see what ASU students do in the coming semesters to encourage their peers to fight for reproductive rights nationwide. Check out some of their student members, reppin’ URGE so, so well!

UTEP uses Nail Art to Fundraise for the West Fund

The URGE chapter at the University of Texas El Paso held a nail art fundraiser in support of the West Fund. Complete with a glittery uterus, UTEP raised over $400 in a a few hours. The funds will be used to support abortion care in the Southwest region of Texas. The chapter also received some attention in their campus newspaper, with quotes from campus leader, Gina Lawrence.  

UGA has something to Say!

  Athens, Ga. – URGE chapter members  at the University of Georgia partnered with  the Feminist Women’s Health Center to raise awareness about reproductive justice in Georgia. The chapter members were  adamant about students knowing about Georgia state officials recent decision to cut off funds for Planned Parenthood  STI kits. These kits were the source for testing for STI’s such as chlamydia and gonorrhea. The event lasted approximately 2 hours and chapter members engaged students by signing them up for local, state and national conferences with URGE.  Chapter members were also able to pass out informational cards and make  a connection with their student body. UGA’s event made a BOLD statement and garnered major support.      

FIRE Member Speaks Out Against Kansas Voter ID Laws

Over the past month Kansas has gained national attention for its highly restrictive voter id laws that now require Kansans prove their citizenship when registering to vote.  Students at URGE chapters in the state have been outspoken and finding ways to mobilize around this issue.  Abby Agnew, a member of FIRE at Kansas State University, was recently quoted in her school’s newspaper about how these laws negatively impact young people and discourages them even more from participating in the electoral process.

URGE welcomes three new chapters in Ohio

URGE extends a warm welcome to URGE at Wright State University, URGE at Ohio State University and URGE at Otterbein University to our roster this fall! We look forward to future activist work from these campuses this year. Pictures are Anya Qiu and Julie Torres, who are chapters leaders at URGE at Ohio State University.