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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Augustana chapter.

Back in December 2023, in the deads of the midwest winter, an idea was born out of a desire to help people. For those who might not know this about me, I am a Peer Educator with the Sexual Assault Prevention Education Office, helping students on campus receive  the help they need in obtaining information about about resources and safe sex education.  I love my job and as someone who does a lot of work with reproductive rights, harm reduction and other healthcare issues, it’s a perfect fit for me and what I hope to do post undergrad. 

It started with a few people I knew who asked for my help in obtaining Emergency Contraception, condoms and other supplies.  People knew of my position within the SAPE office and most had some discomfort within visiting the office directly.  As a woman, and as someone who at one point was not comfortable talking about sex positivity and other topics. I completely understood.  Our office is also very inconvenient hours and distance wise.    So with the support of my suppliers and other community partners, Hey Jane(y) was born.   The name has some direct inspiration from Hey Jane, a reproductive rights organization and well…my name!  

So I got down to it. I made a long google form, organized a good portion of my junior year bedroom to accommodate a large mass of supplies and my work began.  Initially it was a few people who I already knew, but all it took was a link in my personal instagram bio and word of mouth before I was receiving dms and emails almost immediately.  People, mainly underclassmen and queer/women identifying individuals were hearing about what I do and sought me out directly without me promoting much at all!   The diversity of who I have served has been eye opening to me and by the time finals week was over….I had given away 40+ orders!

Knowing that I had helped campus out so much in such a short amount of time was really inspirational for me.  I wanted to aim bigger.

 From running this service solo in my apartment bedroom, to establishing a team of  6 college  aged students ready to help me,  Hey Janey expanded and added a Co. to its name.  Myself and my Advocates for Youth Co-lead Amber and I spent hours over the summer establishing a spreadsheet, looking over applications and so much more to find people at Augustana who were passionate about this project.   Since this is completely student run and not sponsored by the school in any way, we knew that there could be some potential for issues. However so far, we have been met with nothing but love and support from students and staff alike on this campus.

  I look forward to growing this group through advocacy events and opportunities, connecting the team with training and knowledge in advocacy work, and of course distributing safe sex and harm reduction supplies to those in my college community.

As a college senior, I feel like this is a part of the legacy I hope to impart on Augustana College.  I don’t simply want my time to be a footnote in the deep history of this campus. I want to continue to fight the stigmas and assumptions that come with intimacy and sexual health.  I want people of all  backgrounds to feel comfortable having conversations about their relationships and health whether it be with peers or a partner.  I want women to take charge in sexual situations and be able to feel empowered and confident.  Women shouldn’t feel embarrassment or shame with these conversations when men are free to talk about their intimate encounters.  Let’s change this narrative and bring about a revolution!

Sex is normal.

Wanting to be safe when having sex is normal.

Consent and communication within sex SHOULD BE NORMAL!

I encourage everyone to be safe and make the choices right for them and to consider following hjc_augie for information on how to obtain supplies and so much more. 

  Take control of your life and sexual health! 

Janey Locander is a Senior at Augustana College who is currently studying WGSS, Psychology, and Creative Writing. She has a passion for reading, writing and advocacy. She works for her campuses Office of Sexual Assault Prevention Education (OSAPE) as a peer educator and is currently finishing up her role as a Regional Co-Lead for the Midwest Region with Advocates For Youth. On top of all this she has worked with many publications and programs across the Quad Cities such as the Midwest Writing Center's YEW internship , Love Girls Magazine, and so much more. She hopes you enjoy her words as they are her world.