HALEY PIERCE
pierceha@lopers.unk.edu
A SHARE group is forming at UNK. The organization, whose name stands for Sexual Health and Reproductive Education, will focus on precisely those topics as a Planned Parenthood student group.
Abby McKeag, president of SHARE UNK, said the group will educate students on the variety of services Planned Parenthood provides.
“A lot of people associate the name Planned Parenthood with just abortion and we want to make it obvious that Planned Parenthood does so much more than that,” McKeag said.
These services include STI testing and treatment, cancer treatment, contraception and accurate sexual education. The group’s executive board has set more specific goals to educate people about consent, make menstrual products available for free in women’s and family/single restrooms, and make condoms available in all restrooms, but specifically dorm restrooms.
The point, McKeag said, is to “lower STD rates on campus, make affirmative consent the norm, and make it clear that even though there isn’t a Planned Parenthood in Kearney, Planned Parenthood has a presence here and can help you.”
As an organization, SHARE UNK’s constitution has gone to the student government’s Selections and Constitutional Review Committee. Outside of UNK, the group will also receive some funding from Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood has similar groups on campuses throughout the country. These groups are typically referred to as “Gen Action” groups, but McKeag said they feel SHARE UNK is more specific.
The group will also receive organizational support from Planned Parenthood’s advocacy strategist in the third district, Jon Marx.
“He is responsible for making sure we succeed as a group and get all of our individual members involved with Planned Parenthood as much as possible,” McKeag said.
SHARE UNK also plans to work closely with the Women’s Center and Student Health on campus. Additionally, they are working with Buffalo County Young Democrats to recruit members through social media posts and advertising at meetings. The group currently consists of five executive board members and received about a dozen attendants at their first meeting on Nov. 7. SHARE UNK meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 5 p.m. in the Learning Commons. The next meeting will be Nov. 20.
