IUSG plans on funding the endowment of Plan B on campus, amongst other health initiatives through the Student Health Care Fund, Bell Pastore, student body vice president said.
The goal is to raise $500,000 by April to support the program and continue funding Plan B for students, invest in STI testing on campus, help with gender-affirming care and address other health concerns, Pastore said.
IUSG began funding Plan B for students at the start of the 2022-2023 school year. Siebert and Pastore worked with the IU Student Health Center to ensure students could pick up emergency contraceptives without charge. As part of the Emergency Contraceptive Access Appropriations Act passed by IUSG Congress in August, IUSG has donated over $27,000 to the Student Health Center to fund this program, which expires May 31, Pastore said.
The new Student Health Care Fund, started by the IUSG executive branch in November 2022, will continue funding health initiatives after their terms end in April. Unlike the Emergency Contraceptive Access Appropriations Act, which used money from student activity fees, the fund will come from donations. To acquire the money, IUSG plans to reach out to alumni, a list of organizations provided by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and local businesses that have been established as supporting the pro-choice movement.
Pastore said they have spoken to local bars and bands in Bloomington to coordinate events where money from shows will go toward IUSG funding. However, no funding has been confirmed yet, Pastore said.
“We’ve reached out to a lot of local Bloomington businesses about collaborating with them to spread awareness for this,” Makiah Pickett, intern for Pastore and head of fundraising at IUSG, said.
IUSG has also spoken to some culture centers on campus and student organizations, according to Pastore.
IUSG has networked with other student governments through The Association of Big Ten Schools and has conducted research relating to other schools' health campaigns. IUSG has not found any schools in the Big 10 that have launched a fund specifically for student health, Pastore said.
“Any funds from that account that we raise can be sort of applied to any future IUSG projects related to health,” student body president Kyle Seibert said.
The funding does not specifically have to go toward Plan B or other sexual health needs but can go toward other health concerns such as physical or mental for the future, Seibert said. However, no specific plans for those other initiatives have been announced.
“We will continue advocating and doing everything we can for students on this campus,” Pastore said.
CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this story was published with missing information.
