Maria Jackson is a Senior at the College of Charleston and has sat on South Carolina’s Youth Council for Policy Change (S.W.A.R.M.) for 2 years.

This semester, Charleston County School District’s HAC (Health Advisory Committee- the ones who decide standards on sex education in our public schools) has been restructuring itself. After months of hiatus, it was finally ready to re-populate its committee with new faces. When trying to find pro-comprehensive sex education people to apply for the committee, we started looking at the requirements. The make-up of the committee must be this:

• - two parents
• - two health professionals
• - two teachers
• - two students
• - THREE clergy
• - two others not employed by the School District
•     

Yes, you read it correctly. Apparently, while people closest to the situation of sex education in public schools (teachers, parents, and students) and those who are experts on the field (health professionals) matter in making these critical decisions, clergy actually have the highest percentage mandated membership in the HAC.
 
While I believe that faith can play an integral role in many peoples’ decision about sexuality, I do not believe that religion should play such an integral role in the School District’s decisions about sex education. Those who seem best qualified to make decisions about what is taught about sex in our public schools are the people who receive the education, parents whose tax dollars and children are impacted by committee decisions, teachers who spend every day in the classroom, and health professionals who have committed their life to helping others make informed, effective decisions about their health. Religion, while deeply important to some, does not objectively belong in the decision making of sexual health education policies. Even if it did, should it constitute the greatest percentage?

One fourth of the annual HIV and AIDS cases in the state occur in women and girls.  Although women do not account for the largest portion of HIV/AIDS diagnoses, it is important to recognize that the majority of women being diagnosed are acquiring HIV through heterosexual contact.  It is essential that men and women, old and young, protect themselves and discuss methods of prevention with their partner.   We must make sure that people feel empowered and have the resources to make healthy decisions. 

At Tell Them, we want constituents to know that they can have a voice in supporting policies that promote their wellbeing and defeating those that cause harm.  Support local and national policies that increase access to testing and treatment services.  In light of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, I challenge you to get tested and engage in conversation about HIV with your sister, mother, friend, or family.  HIV/AIDS is preventable and treatable and we must continue to support efforts at reducing the burden of disease for those with and without a positive status.

Tell Them

On Wednesday, the first Tell Them billboards went up in cities across South Carolina, urging passersby to “protect your rights” by visiting our website and taking action.

These billboards will be up through March, and can be found throughout Charleston and Columbia, with two boards in Clemson. Each board carries 1 of 3 messages:

•      – Birth Control is safe, effective and in serious jeopardy
•      – Some lawmakers want to outlaw birth control
•      – Don’t let contraceptives become contraband

We are urging members across the state to keep an eye out for these boards (not too much – we want you to be safe and watch the road!). You can follow the Tell Them billboard sightings on our FourSquare page.

And if you spot a board, PLEASE send in a picture and the location! We’re trying to track them all and need your help to keep the running tally!

Tell Them had its first statewide canvass covering the Upstate, Midlands and Low Country.  Brittany Pack of Converse College, Kelsey Stangebye of University of South Carolina and Lindsey Breitwieser of College of Charleston all hosted a Halloween Canvass on their campus, dressed up in costumes and did a reverse trick or treat for comprehensive sex education in schools. 

Many people knew of the need for comprehensive sex education and were glad to have a way to speak out. “We actually had several girls say they had pregnant friends they wish had known more while they were in school and maybe they wouldn’t be in the situation they are in today. So several people were more than happy to sign and ready to see a difference!”, says Brittany Pack. 

These volunteers stepped up to the plate and recruited other advocates to work with them to get petitions signed and emails sent to the gubernatorial candidates.  Advocates were able to send over 120 emails, and get multiple petitions signed!

Kelsey Stangebye said  “ We had a blast! Nearly everyone signed the petitions and were very supportive, because they know firsthand how badly teens need comprehensive sex education, and the wanted to make their voices heard to our new governor.”  Every email, every petition, and every conversation advocating to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDs, makes a big difference in the eyes of the community as well as legislators. 

“Not only were we making a difference, but we had so much fun walking around in our costumes and knocking on doors, we were trick or treating like kids again!  Instead of receiving candy we worked for a cause bigger than ourselves and today superman and wonder woman took over Charleston!” Lindsey Breitwieser.

The advocates had a great time, so bravo and thank you to all the Tell Them volunteers that took some time out of their Halloween plans to make a difference.  I challenge you all to now take their lead and organize an event or presentation on your campus.

I love voting!

When I was young, my parents would take my siblings and me to the polling place with them and let us “push the buttons.” As we got older, we would get to wear the “I Voted” stickers to school and be all cool. Election Day was a treat- a special day to look forward to.

I waited 18 years to vote, to have a say, to be counted. Now that I have the right to vote, I still find it to be exhilarating, exciting, and the best thing I can do as a citizen of this country. You can ask the workers at my polling place this morning, I LOVE voting.

Ok, yes- I have a degree in American History (with a particular focus on the Revolutionary War, the Constitution and the Presidency), so maybe I like these ideas of civic engagement more than some people. But just because I can recite all the Presidents or sing the words to the School House Rock song “the Preamble” doesn’t make voting any less important.

Casting your vote is not only your right but your responsibility. As a citizen, you pay taxes, you live by a code of laws, and you have the right to decide who helps spend your money and run this system. I would argue that these midterm elections are far more important than Presidential elections (where the voter turnout numbers are typically much higher).

It’s these midterm elections that decide who represents you on a more local level. Who is going to be at the statehouse proposing more education funding and better medical coverage? Who do you want at the Board of Education deciding on the kinds of curriculum your children are taught?

For some, this may be preaching to the choir, but if you don’t vote, you don’t get to complain. Our government is asking to hear our opinions. Tell them what you think! Make sure you vote today.

And if you have any good Presidential, Constitutional or American History trivia, please send it my way. I’m the one proudly wearing my own “I voted” sticker.

To accomplish our goals, we need to get as many people involved with the march as possible.

On Thursday, we announced our new Tell-A-Friend Giveaway. We want to reward our hard-working volunteers and advocates for bringing their friends to a party, or sending our information on the march to their contacts. Beginning last Thursday, for every friend that you get to sign up for the march, you will get one entry towards winning an $1,800 diamond and gold Slane & Slane necklace from Sylvan’s.

It’s really simple to get your entries to count.

Refer your friends to the website, and when they sign up on our new, faster form, they simply enter YOUR name in the “How did you hear about us” field. Every time your name is entered, you get another entry.

We really want to reward Tell Them members and marchers for all their hard work during the march. Please, keep emailing this out to your friends and get them to sign up. We already have one person with 27 entries!! Think you can top that?

 Now that we’re in the final stretch of the Virtual March, we really need YOUR help. Call, email or forward information to your friends, coworkers, family- anyone who you think cares about these issues. We have over 2,500 voices ready to go next week, and want to make sure that every person has a chance to speak.

7 days left- let’s get more marchers and get ready for next week!

Tell Them proudly presents Susan Romaine of Charleston, SC.  Susan is a Charleston-based artist and the owner of “Studio Romaine.” She was the Gibbs Artist in Residence from 2003-2004, and is a former investment professional. Susan has served as the Former Commissioner of the South Carolina Governor’s Commission on Women, as Board President of the Center for Women, Board President of Crisis Ministries, and is a current Board member of Planned Parenthood of South Carolina.

Watch as Susan talks about reproductive healthcare as a basic need of any healthcare system.

Tell Them is pleased and very proud to present Kay Chitty of Mt. Pleasant. Kay, a retired nurse, is a native South Carolinian, and recieved her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Nursing degrees from Emory University and her doctorate from the University of Tennessee. Kay is a former Dean of the Univeristy of Tennessee at Chattanooga Schoolof Nursing, and as authored numerous articles and chapters for professional journals and books in addition to a best selling nursing textbook, Professional Nursing: Concepts and Challenges, now in its 6^th edition. She was named one of “the fifty most influential people in Chattanooga during the 20^th Century.”  Kay is a member of the Medical University of South Carolina Foundation Board, and is married to her college sweetheart and they have two adult children and three grandchildren.

One of Kay’s favorite quotes is from Margaret Mead:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Watch Kay as she speaks about the importance of speaking to young people about their options and how to protect themselves, and then join other committed, thoughtful citizens of South Carolina in the Virtual March.