North Students Advocate for Sex Ed and Social Issues with TASH

Though there may be stigma that comes with the words “comprehensive sex education,” many people feel that the most valuable gift a person can receive is knowing how to be prepared for the world that is around them especially when it comes to learning about sex and reproductive injustices. A few students at North feel so passionately about the topic of reproductive justice and learning about safe sex that they have joined Teen Advocates for Sexual Health, TASH, which meets twice a month at Planned Parenthood in Forest Park.

“I joined TASH because I wanted to learn about sexual education and because Aly Zuhler recommended me. I think it’s important to be in TASH because you learn so much about sex education and the issues in society such as discrimination, reproductive injustices, and how to have safe sex,” junior Sophea Brandley said.

The education which TASH brings to its members includes how to use different types of contraception, what is happening related to social activism, how different issues pertain to privilege, how people can acquire reproductive health care, and how people can advocate for political change for reproductive health rights.

“We advocated for comprehensive sex ed and to make more laws regarding sexual assault on campus. We felt that these issues were important because of how prevalent they have been in our society, and we needed to fight for change in our state,” senior Anna Rickard said.

One way in which the members of TASH push for change is by lobbying politicians in Jefferson City, where members get to speak to politicians about issues that they feel are important and want to see changed in Missouri.

“Lobbying is fun because we get to hang out with friends while also taking social action. We just go and find our state senators and ask them to vote for our bills and explain why it’s important to us,” Rickard said.

Many people who are members of TASH may feel strongly about their beliefs, but attending a program at Planned Parenthood can have its complications due to the stigma that is associated with the organization regarding the performance of abortions, even though they are only three percent of what Planned Parenthood does.

“The protesters can be really scary. They like to scream things at us and try to make us feel bad about ourselves. I feel safe, but it’s still really scary because I don’t always know what is going to happen. It makes me feel uneasy. I never wanted to stop going to TASH though because it’s worth it. You learn so much, and I’m truly a part of the TASH community,” Rickard also said.

Though there may be struggles and hardships that come along with the activism that TASH aspires to lead, members still feel the need to be optimistic and push through the austerity that they face and to stay true to what they feel is important.

“The protesters have the right to protest but we have certain viewpoints so that it seems like protesting [abortion] seems wrong. We try to be as understanding as possible, but we still can’t understand them because they don’t want to listen to what we have to say,” junior Deepa Shukla said.

by Kyle Wolfe, Writing Wizard