A stack of condoms and a stack of stickers sit neatly in the small basket decorated with cupcakes, and every attendee at the meeting of Voices for Planned Parenthood received one of each.
Our generation thinks we're invincible. ... We're not going to get STDs; we're not going to get pregnant
said Calla Bonanno. People need to know the risks out there. ... You have to take precautions and the steps to not get pregnant to not get an STD.
Bonanno is the vice president of the new student group on campus, also called VOX, where students can learn, promote, and advocate women's reproductive rights and education about sexual health, said Bonanno, an intern at Planned Parenthood. The group meets at 2 p.m. every Friday in Clippinger 332.
Planned Parenthood is such an untapped resource said Michael Conley, VOX treasurer.
The local Planned Parenthood, at 1005 E. State St., provides emergency contraception and testing for sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy. The center also offers birth control on a sliding scale of price based on the student's personal income, said VOX President Riley Yuhas.
It's a safe place for people to go
Bonanno said. They're not going to be judged or looked down upon.
VOX aims to raise awareness about Planned Parenthood services, where students can approach other students for information, Yunas said.
It's coming to someone who you feel is in a similar situation
Yunas said.
With many college students coming from backgrounds of abstinence-only education or who only find out sexual information from friends, VOX is providing correct, scientifically proven information, Bonanno said.
VOX's current initiative is raising awareness about House Bill 333, a statewide bill that would make it mandatory for hospitals to provide rape victims with emergency contraception and testing. One in seven women in Ohio will be a victim of rape, and 7 percent of hospitals reported they would deny emergency contraception to anyone requesting it, Bonanno said.
Vox is a group on campus that will promote
promote
promote safe sexual health
Bonanno said.
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