Abby Jenson felt frozen, disengaged, isolated. All she could do was hit post, uploading a disturbing story to her Instagram feed about the slew of legislative bills rife with transphobic rhetoric, such as bids to keep transgender athletes out of public sports and to limit access to gender-affirming care to minors, designed to degrade her friends.
“A lot of us feel really powerless right now to do anything,” she said.
Jensen felt that despair until she joined EWU’s chapter of Generation Action in October of 2024, where she found a community of people who gave that aimless concern some traction.
“Although we can’t do that much, we can still make changes,” said Jensen, who has since risen to become the chapter president. “We can be involved in ways that can make changes and connect with one another to create community. That’s the most important thing we can be doing right now to give ourselves that control back.”
Jensen’s iteration of Generation Action is the second wind for the organization. Following the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the club disappeared, only to be revived in spring of 2024.
Jensen, who became the club’s president in 2025, found Generation Action to be “the most empowering thing [she’s] ever done”.
In partnership with Planned Parenthood, the club’s goals extend beyond fighting for reproductive justice on campus. “I want people to know … there are places they can go where they can have those opportunities to get involved and not just be alone in their fear or anxiety about the state of the world,” Jensen said.
When the need arises, Generation Action becomes visible — like when organizations against reproductive care set-up on campus. Created Equal, a right-wing pro-life organization, came to EWU twice last year, joined by EWU’s Turning Point USA chapter. The first time Created Equal arrived on campus, Generation Action was new to counter-protesting. It was the first time the club had a chance to counter-protest.
As Created Equal set up a table inside the student mall, Generation Action was on the scene: drawing murals, giving out pins, sharing reproductive resources, blowing bubbles and making sure any students who felt uncomfortable with the conservative organization’s presence knew they had support.
“Those moments when students and faculty have come up to us and said, ‘Thank you for being visible; we’re so glad you’re here,’ those are the most important [moments] Generation Action has,” Jensen said.
Generation Action meets Tuesdays at 4 p.m. in Monroe 207.
“If you are somebody who wants to be politically active, who sees things going on in the world that scare you or upset you, and you’re nervous, and you want to do something, but you feel frozen — the best thing you can do is find a group of people who are trying to work toward getting involved, and committing yourself to showing up and being involved,” Jensen said.
