by Kristen Sands, 2017-2018 Campus Leader at Davidson College
Hello from Davidson, North Carolina! My name is Kristen Sands and I am the campus leader for NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina here at Davidson College, a liberal arts 
college of around 2,000 students. I had an excellent day tabling for NARAL outside of our main academic building on September 28th in honor of International Safe Abortion Day!
For our tabling event, I was able to work with the two fabulous campus representatives for Planned Parenthood Generation Action, Caroline Roddey and Emma Granowsky. We joined forces, combined swag and informational pamphlets, and prepped with coffee and doughnut munchkins to offer students on their way to class! We were very grateful to have the support of a number of other pro-choice student activists who took turns running the table when we had class.
Throughout the day, we received great feedback from students and faculty members who stopped by to chat with us and learn more about reproductive justice. A number of students told us that they didn’t know that 1 in 3 women will have an abortion in her lifetime, and that understanding the reality of the numbers really made them want to get
involved in pro-choice activism. Students also really enjoyed the #BustTheMyths handout, with many of them remarking on the statistic that 95 percent of women who have had abortions ultimately feel they have made the right decision. My Planned Parenthood representative friends provided an excellent handout on tough conversations and how to navigate a conversation with someone who is anti-choice, which was popular amongst students as well. Students and faculty members who stopped by our table expressed gratitude that there was visible and open conversation about abortion happening on our campus and an excitement to get involved with our movement. Just hours after we packed up the table for the day, I was happy to see NARAL and 1 in 3 campaign stickers on laptops and water bottles and buttons clipped to backpacks.
I was absolutely thrilled by the number of people eager to learn more about reproductive justice and find how they can contribute to the pro-choice movement! Seeing the engagement and enthusiasm of members of the Davidson community regarding abortion rights not only gave me one more reason to love my campus, but also gave me great confidence in the power of my generation to make real change. Thank you NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina for giving me the opportunity to celebrate International Safe Abortion Day at Davidson!
NC Blogs for Reproductive Rights 