At Elizabethtown College’s Feb. 15 Accepted Students Day, many campus clubs and organizations participated in a tabling event to encourage prospective students to become involved in the community and show off the diversity of activities available at Etown. One such club was Our Bodies, an organization dedicated to destigmatizing intimate relationships and educating students about reproductive health.
Boasting over 100 members, the club is led by president and community outreach director Lin Bangs, vice president Melany Bedoya, secretary Julie Brelsford, treasurer Kayli Hose and event co-directors Desiree Tirado and Darrel Mingle. The staff advisor is Associate Professor of Education and Director of the Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking Shannon Haley-Mize.
Bangs, a sophomore psychology major with a minor in women and gender studies, founded the club alongside Olivia Morrison in the spring semester of 2024. According to the club’s description on Etown’s website, their goal was to advocate “for reproductive and sexual freedom as well as access to opportunities that will help students thrive on and off Elizabethtown’s campus.”
The club meets every other week at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays in Nicarry 203. Each meeting is a discussion about a particular topic related to reproductive health, family planning, sex education or recent legislation. For example, previous meetings have included talks about maintaining healthy relationships, setting boundaries and menstrual cycles, including methods of analog tracking.
Bangs explained that she is passionate about destigmatizing these types of conversations.
“I love that this club gives me an opportunity to share my passion with others,” she said. “We also work to create a brave space for students to discuss topics that have historically been sensitive and stigmatized. We want to push the boundaries of what is being discussed on college campuses.”
In addition to meetings, the club hosts and participates in a variety of other campus events. You can catch their table for International Women’s Day and the Social Justice Fair, and they will be holding a raffle after spring break.
“Our next big event will be a healthy relationships workshop for students to learn more about boundaries and navigating secure relationships,” Bangs said.
Previously, they have held discussions with doctors and nurses about LGBTQ+ sexual education, a trivia night, a screening of the film, “Aftershock” to bring awareness to the maternal mortality crisis in black communities and a partnership with Planned Parenthood to distribute sexually-transmitted infection testing kits to Etown students.
Students can find the Our Bodies club online through their Instagram account @etownourbodies where they promote upcoming events. Their bio also includes a link to resources and an anonymous question form for students who may want to learn more about a specific topic but who may not feel comfortable asking in person at one of the meetings.
The club also has a podcast titled “Our Bodies,” which is available for listening on Spotify and hosted by Bangs and Morrison. There are currently a total of five episodes that range from about half an hour to an hour in length and discuss relationships, especially what they mean for college students.
