This past Saturday, Planned Parenthood action fund of New Jersey joined us on campus for an interactive day long summit. Passionate college students across New Jersey joined forces to discuss and trade their own thoughts on the importance of Planned Parenthood in our communities. The day consisted of presentations, but also of mini workshops that taught us how to create a Planned Parenthood group on campus, how to create and and plan a successful campaign, and how to get in touch with our local elected officials and work with them to enact changes in policies.
One of Planned Parenthood’s main goals is to get New Jersey Legislature to restore family planning funding. The health of many women is at risk and the absence of this funding is hurting New Jersey women and families all over. What this summit’s purpose essentially was, was raising awareness about the importance of reproductive health and the ways in which we can take action and get involved to help make a difference.
While there may have been more than one motivation for those who attended this student activist training, what brought us all together was our interest in how to effectively advocate for reproductive health and how to bring about change in our community. One of the guest speakers was NJ Assemblywoman Gabriela Mosquera who talked briefly about her work in this field, her personal incentive for being an advocate for women’s health rights, and how she got started. However, what she left us with was most touching – a quote by Theodore Roosevelt: “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” So, while there is only so much that one person, or even an entire organization can do in a battle that so many resist and try to belittle, we must do the right thing, for doing nothing is the worst thing that we can do – not only for us, but for those who do not have the resources to speak out, and also to help shape a better future for the next generations of women to come.