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Get Involved, and Make a Life Choice Pt. 1

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Lily Tong
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Charmaine Ng
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Oregon chapter.

One of the greatest things about the U of O is its plethora of student-run groups. Getting involved in a club is a great way to meet new people who share your interests, and who knows? You may find a cause that you really feel passionate about.
 
I looked into two groups to see how they work. Students for Life and Students for Choice are both focused on reproductive and sexual issues. These hard-working students fight for their causes in the community and on campus, and you can get involved too! We will feature Students for Choice this week to give both sides equal time.

Charlotte Johnson is the co-director of Students for Choice and is majoring in English and minoring in creative writing. Students for Choice advocates for sex education and the right to choose.

Lily Tong: What does your group represent on campus?
Charlotte Johnson: We represent a force for reproductive freedom and comprehensive sex education. We seek to empower students and create a voice for reproductive choice; represent a diverse, pro-choice student body as a strong and visible force in the community; educate students about current political issues which threaten their right to make personal reproductive decisions, and provide a wide range of information on local resources.

LT: How did your group get started?
CJ: We were started in the 1970s by current mayor Kitty Piercy when she was an undergrad at the U of O. Ever since then, students have been working tirelessly for reproductive justice through the generations.

LT: How do you reach out to your community, on and off campus?
CJ: We try to reach people through tabling, flyers, our Facebook group and Twitter account, as well as through our email lists. When we hold events, they are mostly on campus and for students, but our goal is to reach out to the entire community as often as possible by being involved with the local Planned Parenthood and other pro-choice organizations in Eugene.

LT:  How can students on campus get involved with your group?
CJ: We meet Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in the Women’s Center Lounge, which is located in the lower level of the EMU. Also, you can find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for updates on our events.

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A University of Oregon junior and San Francisco native, Charmaine Ng loves authentic noodle dishes and will always opt for Asian and Italian cuisine when pressed to choose a restaurant. She is a self-proclaimed "noodler," someone who uses her noodle to collaborate with others and bring big ideas to life. She interns for a student-run full-service ad agency, blogs for a wedding and event planning company, and runs the UO Muggle Quidditch League. In her spare time, she sleeps, and sleeps, and sleeps - and dabbles in social media and blogging, her two biggest passions. Her quirkiness isn't apparent at first, but then she starts talking about packaging design and making funny faces, and you wonder what happened to that shy Asian girl you first met. With ambition bursting beyond the campus walls, Charmaine can't wait to graduate and work for an agency, company, or publication in community outreach efforts using social media.