Back to Campus

Theresa Garrett is a founding member of the North Carolina Central University (NCCU) chapter of Vox^®: Voices for Planned Parenthood.  Garrett, now a senior, talks with plannedparenthood.org about issues at the historically black university, her experience with Vox, and the upcoming school year.

Why did you and your fellow students decide to start your own Vox chapter?

When I got to campus, I came as a transfer student, so I got to look at the campus from the outside in. I really felt that there needed to be an organization for women’s voices to be heard — especially around condoms, contraception, and sex.

What has been your experience in Vox?

It’s been a rollercoaster! A lot of ups and downs, but it’s been an experience I’ll never forget. I’ve developed relationships with a lot of great people. We were able to talk about issues like incest and rape — and being on a predominantly African-American campus, those issues are not really talked about. We bring those issues of rape and incest out on the table and begin the healing process. We also talk about the goodness of sex. We brought The Vagina Monologues to campus, and to see the campus and the community respond to those stories, it was just amazing!

Other Vox students from historically black colleges have said that members of the black community sometimes have misconceptions about being pro-choice, believing that it means “pro-abortion.” Do you find this to be true on your campus?

Oh, it’s so difficult! People associate Planned Parenthood with abortion — and that’s it. They don’t realize how much prevention Planned Parenthood does. We’d say, “We’re Vox: Voices for Planned Parenthood,” and people would be like, “Whoa, wait a minute!” We really had to turn it around and redefine what it means to be pro-choice. It’s a woman’s choice to do whatever she wants with her body, whether that’s have an abortion, keep the baby, put it up for adoption, use contraception, whatever. We want people to know that whatever you feel, you can still be a part of Vox. We’re still trying to take over campus!

What is Vox working on this year?

We’re revitalizing ourselves as a group. A lot of members are graduating, so we’re moving very slowly. We’re doing a lot of co-sponsored events with other women’s organizations and groups that promote what we believe in. We’re not doing The Vagina Monologues this year. We’ve brought it to campus for two years running, so we’re going to take a break. We’re going to focus on support, focus groups, and talking to women on campus.

What are the most important sexual and reproductive health issues on your campus?

The most important, I would say, is letting people know what’s out there — condoms, the Depo-Provera shot, the female condom. Also, a lot of women who come to campus have already been sexually assaulted, raped, or had incest in their family. Beginning that healing process is a huge, huge issue on campus.

How is your chapter raising awareness of comprehensive sex education?

There’s a high school down the street from us and we’re trying to start a mentor program for the young women there. It’s still in the works, because we need all this permission to work with the high school. Anything to help young women to be safe and not get any diseases — we accomplish that goal through small steps.

Birth control prices for college students and low-income women have skyrocketed due to recent legislation. Has your campus felt the repercussions of this? If so, how is Vox responding to this?

Our clinic said that birth control is purchased through the state at a discounted price and if that price were to increase, there would be an increase for the students. To help, we could set up an emergency fund to support young women if they need it.  Any issue that affects women, Vox: Voices of NCCU fights for!