by Aliza Rosenfeld
F+L caught up with Hannah Scharlin-Pettee ’13, an SIC staffer who directed the Oberlin Has Sex video as a protest against the threat of federal defunding for Planned Parenthood.
F+L: How did you go about getting Oberlin students involved? Did you find students willing to participate? Was it awkward?
HS-P: So basically, the idea to do the video was kind of a combination of Students United for Reproductive Freedom (SURF), the Sexual Information Center (SIC), and me. And I work for the SIC. So the first thing we did was create a Facebook event. We didn’t put up any posters because we realized the Wesleyan video had just been made and we needed to act really quickly if we wanted to create a video that was similar to theirs and would get out there fast enough. Two days later I got a hundred people. And everyone was really down.
F+L: And a lot of people showed up in Wilder?
HS-P: Yeah, about 30 people showed up in Wilder and then I went around campus and a lot more people approached me and said, “Oh, are you doing the video? I want to be in it.”
F+L: That’s awesome. So why did you want to make this video?
HS-P: I’m a Gender Studies and Cinema Studies double major, so I guess making the video seemed kind of natural. I’m really passionate about Planned Parenthood and the work they do.
F+L: Are you directly you involved with Planned Parenthood at all?
HS-P: Not directly. I don’t volunteer with Planned Parenthood but I’ve worked with people involved.
F+L: What do you want viewers to get out of watching the Oberlin Has Sex video?
HS-P: Obviously I want them to watch it and be like, “Yeah Planned Parenthood!” But I also think that the video doesn’t just speak to what’s going on with Senate right now. It speaks to the general culture of sexual negativity in America and specifically the lack of support for services for women’s health. So I hope that people watching it will get really excited about the things they’re seeing. And laugh. I feel like humor is how you reach people.
F+L: What kind of impact do you think these videos will have? Do you think they’ll change anything politically?
HS-P: I hope it will, but I don’t think it will. The students that were in the video and specifically the schools that have done the video so far represent a really slim demographic of people in the country. So I don’t think it’s going to make some incredible amount of change, but my hope it that people will watch it and it’ll raise awareness. At least I hope it’ll raise awareness among our generation because that’s really who the video speaks to.
F+L: How important is Planned Parenthood for college students?
HS-P: Oh, it’s central.
F+L: How else can people get involved?
HS-P: There are a lot of ways. They could volunteer for Planned Parenthood, they could join SURF, take SexCo, go to the SIC…there are a lot of opportunities in Oberlin for students to get involved. And I hope people do. I really do, after this.