Last week, four Oakland University students gathered to discuss a new student-led organization which speaks for a voice they believe “must be heard” on campus.

Juniors Estee Shaw, Aretha Frazier and Lauren Catoni and senior Kelly Shaw make up the e-board for OU’s first pro-choice student org, Voice for Choices.

Starting Sept.18, meetings will be held at noon on Tuesdays in room 129 of the Oakland Center.

According to founder and president Estee Shaw, the idea for Voices for Choices came out of her desire for all sides of the issue of abortion to be represented on campus.

“We already have groups dedicated to pro-life beliefs,” she said. “I think it’s fair on a campus to have a balance.”

However, Shaw explained that the focus of this group “is more than just abortion.”

“It’s contraceptives, family planning, and reproductive rights issues,” she said.

According to Voices for Choices vice president Frazier, this org is intended to be completely inclusive to anyone “who wishes to take part in the discussion.”

“We want men to come, too. We’d love that,” Frazier said.

The group also stressed that anyone with a uterus — not simply those who identify as women — are affected by reproductive rights issues.

Shaw explained that this includes transgender individuals and “others who are often left out of the discussion.”

“Saying there’s a ‘war on women’ is catchy, but it’s not all-encompassing,” she said “We’re not trying to come up with a catchy slogan.”

Kelly Shaw, secretary of Voices for Choices, believes that an open forum to discuss these issues at OU is vital, particularly because of recent media attention on women’s health.

“It’s essential to have this conversation because there’s so much going on in the news and the media pushes back against what we’re trying to promote,” she said.

According to Shaw, it is important for students to know Voices for Choices is not in any way trying to combat the pro-life student organization.

Voices for Choices treasurer Catoni agreed, stating “if there are Students for Life, there should also be Voices for Choices.”

Shaw plans to contact the pro-life student org and hopes they will share the common goal of keeping OU students informed on social issues.

“I hope they would be glad that we’ll have both sides on campus.” she said. “Maybe even one day we could throw an event together.”

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Contact Staff Reporter Jennifer Holychuk via email [email protected] at or follow her on Twitter @jholychuk