Writing a Senior Project: Clara Keller
We caught up with Clara Keller, a recent graduate of the Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies Program (GSW), to talk about her experience writing her senior thesis.
First, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Clara Keller. I graduated in May with a bachelor of arts in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies and a minor in Sociology. I am the founder and past president of Students for Reproductive Justice, a sex-positive and gender-inclusive sexual health advocacy organization on campus! I have two boxers (Niko and Theo) and I love to crochet and color. After graduating, I started working for Detroit Action as the Lansing Campus Organizer, and I will hopefully attend graduate school soon for public policy.
Why were you drawn to the GSW Program?
I had never had the opportunity to take feminist and queer theory classes in high school, so when I saw that GSW was offered as a major, I wanted to try it out!
Tell us about your senior project.
My senior project focused on studying college campuses across the country in terms of sexual health materials, access to contraceptives such as condoms, dental dams, and Plan B, and how student organizations were mobilizing to make change, especially after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. I studied eight universities and interviewed reproductive justice student groups and the complimenting campus health center for each campus, collecting and comparing data on miscommunications and barriers students had when accessing sexual health. After studying each campus, I discovered that because of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, University administrations were more reluctant to implement sexual health programs or increase access to contraceptives because the topic is perceived as more controversial. On the other hand, because of the court decision, student groups on each campus were increasingly motivated to make positive changes for sexual health on campus, and most are currently running campaigns to install contraceptive vending machines.
What part of your experience working on your senior project had the biggest impact on you?
Because I was also currently working to install contraceptive vending machines on our campus, I felt validated by the similar struggles other students experienced and the many barriers that were in place preventing student activists from making change. Doing the research also brought home how impactful the court decision was. Oftentimes, it's easier to think about how one political act directly impacts your community, but students on other campuses shared similar resentment and it was humbling to speak with student groups, especially in states where abortion is extremely limited because of the Dobb's decision.
So, what comes next for you?
My next step is attending graduate school to get a master's in public policy, concentrating on international development and social policy. I'd love to work on global humanitarian issues in the future and write policies for our government to push progressive change.