By Michelle Gao
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006, The OG, news

Seventeen Uni students will travel to the state capitol in Springfield today to participate in Lobby Day, an event organized by the Illinois Campaign for Responsible Sex Education.

The students will lobby in support of Illinois Senate Bill 2267, which would provide a source of funding for local schools and community groups to institute comprehensive, responsible sex-education programs. While $167 million in federal money was spent nationally on abstinence-only programs in fiscal year 2005, currently there is no funding for comprehensive sex-education programs, according to critics.

The participants in Lobby Day want the state government to ensure that teens receive accurate information about sex and its consequences so that they will be able to make their own responsible choices.

“As teens we're sort of in this stage of our lives where we're trying to figure out who we are, who we want to be, who our friends want us to be, who our parents want us to be, and a huge factor in that is our sexuality,” said junior Eleanor Unsworth, one of the trip's organizers.

“And for some people that may mean deciding to explore their sexuality, and for some that may mean deciding to wait until later in their adult life to really do that. But either way I think it's really important for people to learn about their sexual health and understand the physical aspects of it as well as the emotional and mental aspects, which I think are often overlooked, especially in sex-ed courses in our country that are the bare minimum — they barely cover the physical aspects of sexual health let alone the emotional and mental sides of it, which are huge.”

The students will be among hundreds of advocates from around the state who will lobby legislators in support of SB 2267. Participants are scheduled to arrive by 10:30 a.m., when they will begin a 45-minute training session on lobbying techniques.

The rest of the day's agenda will include a rally from 11:30 to 11:45 a.m., followed by meetings with state legislators or their staff from noon to 1:30 p.m. The students are scheduled to depart by 2:30 p.m.

Unsworth and fellow Uni organizer senior Annie Fehrenbacher will speak at the rally. The two helped to found the Sexual Health Awareness Group, the Uni student organization also known as SHAG.

“We will be talking about SHAG and my independent study for junior/senior health and encouraging youth to get involved in areas where they feel their schools aren't serving them well,” Fehrenbacher said.

At first, Unsworth and Fehrenbacher tried to make Lobby Day an academic field trip, which would have excused participants from school. However, the University of Illinois policy regarding political activity by employees prevented the participation of faculty members, so the event couldn't be treated as an excused field trip. In addition, the students could not use U of I resources or Student Council money to help with the event.

To participate, students had to submit anticipated absence forms, and their parents had to fill out consent forms. As many as 10 to 20 students may have had to drop out from the group because of these complications, Unsworth estimated. Those remaining will travel to Springfield in vans provided by Planned Parenthood.

“Teens deserve to have medically accurate and complete information provided to them,” Unsworth said. “And it's been shown many times that not providing teens with information on sexual health is not going to keep them from being sexually active; it's just going to increase the likelihood of those who are sexually active putting themselves at risk for disease and pregnancy.

“I really believe that a good sex-ed program can help teens make more informed decisions, understand the risks that are out there and how to avoid them, and also have a better sense of themselves and be willing to stand up for themselves.”

Besides Unsworth and Fehrenbacher, students participating in Lobby Day are freshman Kayla Ginsburg; sophomores Shara Esbenshade, Marika Iyer, Kimberle Pillow, and Jessica Stark; juniors Emma Anselin, Rachel Cascio, Maddy Hamlin, Emily Kamm, and Beckaa Wallig; and seniors Colette DeJong, Shruti Purkayastha, Ellen Rockett, Hannah Snyder, and Ben Tuttle.

As for those students who might think that a campaign for comprehensive sex education doesn't affect them, Unsworth disagrees.

“Well, first of all the state legislation does affect the information that Uni students get, so it does become a personal issue,” she said. “Also, I think it's incredibly important, not only with this issue but in life in general, to look beyond your own personal situation. And if in understanding others' circumstances you feel that changes need to be made — do your part.

“We can't always stand up for ourselves, so it's important to help each other out and do what we can to improve the overall situation. And with issues like this there is always strength in numbers, so the more people who get involved and voice their opinions the better chance we have to make a real difference.”