The Silver Ribbon Campaign, founded by Dr. Sophia Yen, supports and advocates for the reproductive health, reproductive rights, respect, and justice for women. UC Davis is to become the first university campus in the nation to host the campaign.
Whilst attending the Ignite Leadership Conference, Dr. Yen, a professor at Stanford University, gave an impromptu presentation on the importance of advocating for the reproductive health and reproductive rights of women. ASUCD senator Shaitaj Dhaliwal was present for this talk and was inspired to bring the Silver Ribbon Campaign to the UC Davis campus for UCD’s students. Shaitaj spoke of Dr. Yen and reproductive rights to Her Campus, saying, “This really is a political hot topic and something that she feels that if she doesn’t advocate for them and if women don’t advocate for them and just people in general, then they will be taken away from us.” She also said, “This campaign really focuses on making women’s rights, respect for women, reproductive health in particular, something that is always on the political agenda and something that is always being fought for and protected so that there will be no risk of them being taken away.”
The slogan of the campaign, “Trust Women”, stemmed from a statement by President Obama in a conversation with Dr. Yen. Dhaliwal told Her Campus, “She asked what his stance was on women’s reproductive health and he said ‘I trust women. Period.'” She hopes that the work of someone who has dedicated her whole life to protecting women’s reproductive rights will inspire people to get involved. The silver ribbon pins that are the emblem from the campaign all bear the slogan.
This week serves to start the conversation about women’s reproductive health, rights, and respect. Dhaliwal says, “ I don’t want anyone to feel like this week is excluding their needs and only including women… this includes everyone because these issues really affect everyone at the end of the day.” The week not only focuses on a campus and state wide conversation about these issuesm but also a national one. Dhaliwal continued, “California as a state is making really good strides. That’s something I want to emphasize about this campaign is that it recognizes the fact that we as California are doing great but it also addresses the national stance on women’s reproductive health.”
May 16th begins the launch week of this campaign at UC Davis. A variety of student organizations will be tabling and providing resources to do their part. Dr. Yen will be tabling and also giving a talk on Monday the 16th about contraception and the importance of women’s rights for our age group, for women in general, and for everyone. The Student Health and Wellness Center will be giving out contraception and resources via the Love Lab. Representatives from Planned Parenthood will be on campus to give a presentation. Free Silver Ribbon pins and Trust Women t-shirts will also be given out. Shaitaj says, “This week is going to be full of the science over ideology stance that Silver Ribbon really takes in creating not only a dialogue between students but professors as well.” May 16th not only marks the launch of the Silver Ribbon Campaign, but also the launch of Dr. Yen’s startup company, which provides birth control to women using to-door delivery. Those involved are hoping that the Silver Ribbon Week will continue annually and start a ripple effect across campuses nationally.
Dhaliwal said we are “testing the waters regarding how our university as a whole tackles these issues and start negotiating ways to make more of an impact.” The protection of women’s reproductive rights is a movement that is gaining momentum, and UC Davis can now become a part of this movement.