Em-URGE-ing Voices
Your urgent thoughts, urging action.
I kicked off my pride celebration early in Washington, DC during Memorial Day Weekend. It was DC’s annual Black Pride weekend and I had a great time being in the company of so many other people who identified as black, queer, and female. But even in the relative isolation of those parties and events, our …
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I am a bit of a unicorn. Let me explain what I mean by that. I am a 22-year-old multi-racial, Army National Guard veteran, college student, social justice policy nerd and advocate who is a moderate Democrat from a working class background in a fairly red state in the south: North Carolina. A state becoming …
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This article was also published in the Claremont Port Side I have had the honor to write quite a bit about sexual assault and consent during my year as a Choice USA blogger. I am, unfortunately, quite invested in the issue. Not only have I had experiences with assault and harassment, I have watched many of my friends and …
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It’s no surprise to anyone even halfway paying attention to the news as of late that campus sexual assault is a buzzy topic right now. From the release of 55 universities under investigation by the federal government, to the viral picture of an alumni refusing to donate until their alma mater addresses sexual assault, to …
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Marriage equality seems to be expanding every month, with states like Michigan and Arkansas having court cases and lawsuits against the state. The issue of marriage equality has been dividing several state-wide LGBT organizations in Ohio. While some groups believe that Ohio is ready for marriage equality to be put on the ballots, others argue …
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If you’re like me, you became involved with reproductive justice activism in college. College was where you first realized that underneath your sarcasm, snark and occasional misanthropic tendencies, you really wanted to be an activist. You channelled all your angst, frustration and passion into reproductive activism. It’s awesome that you spent four years or five …
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Looking at the typical “Campus Safety Tips” is an adventure through every rape myth imaginable. Not only do these tips reinforce outdated thoughts about sexual assault, they ignore the one fact that cannot be repeated enough. Most victims of sexual assault know the perpetrator, whether it be a friend or an acquaintance. The mythical man …
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May 02, 2014
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Nick
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Our Folks Blog
Earlier this week, the Department of Education and the Office for Civil Rights extended the Title IX clause to protect transgender students from discrimination in schools. The OCR explained, “Title IX’s sex discrimination prohibition extends to claims of discrimination based on gender identity or failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity…” This …
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Last July, I hopped on a plane to attend the Choice USA National Conference, where I met an engaged community of young people working and organizing for reproductive justice all over the country. These amazing young people organized in their schools and communities for things like increasing access to sex education and resources for trans* …
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Last July, I hopped on a plane to attend the Choice USA National Conference, where I met an engaged community of young people working and organizing for reproductive justice all over the country. These amazing young people organized in their schools and communities for things like increasing access to sex education and resources for trans* individuals, they marched against sexual assault, they organized LGBTQ-positive events on their campus. They were doing the important work necessary to expand and protect reproductive justice for all people in this country and I got to spend several days with them in the nation’s capital, learning and sharing.
Since that conference, I have been continually inspired by the ChoiceUSA community in my year blogging for ChoiceWords. Through this blog, I got to share my opinions on and experiences with sexual assault on campus, I found a channel through which to showcase my voice and opinions on current events. I had to opportunity to go to the National Abortion Federation’s National Meeting, where I met health care professionals who provide abortion care and had conversations with them about how to inspire and move young people and how to help our organizing. Throughout it all, I found myself constantly relying on the network of ChoiceUSA people I had met to inspire and to challenge me.
And after my year with Choice USA, I do feel inspired. I know that there are young people all over this country who care deeply about reproductive justice and who know how to affect change in their communities. I know that I want working with them to be an important part of my life in the future.
