By Brittany Pack, member of the SWARM youth council and Senior at Converse College

Recently, I went to speak with my representative about reproductive health education, and I was very disappointed with his response.  At first it seemed promising. I told him how abstinence-only education fails communities, gave him a packet of cited information that backed everything I was saying, and explained to him that just because he supports people being abstinent until marriage does not mean that he should be to force-feeding it to everyone. 

He asked if he could ask me a question…  I was excited, because I thought he was going to attempt to have an educated conversation with me.  I started answering some of his questions and it quickly became clear that we were not on the same page.  He told me that he was glad I was so passionate about a cause; however, I picked the wrong cause to be passionate about.

He said abstinence was the only way to prevent teen pregnancy and STIs. Yes, if everyone in the entire world practiced abstinence then the rates would be lower, but that is simply impossible. He asked me what the only 100% effective way to prevent pregnancy.  He said abstinence. 

I do not agree, sir.  South Carolina as a state has attempted abstinence-only since for decades, but it yet to work!  Crazy can be defined as attempting to do something over and over again and failing, but continuing to do the same thing expecting a different result.  You know it’s not going to work, but you continue to attempt it without changing anything.  Sirs, this is a message of all South Carolinian legislators, to continue to teach abstinence-only sex education is crazy.  We’ve tried over and over again, year after year, for the past three decades, and we’re getting the same results— uneducated people getting pregnant outside the “fortified walls of marriage” or marriage couples that have a child or three and then get divorced.  Poorly educated people cannot make healthy choices without knowing how to be healthy.  Ignoring an entire biological system simply won’t stop young people from getting pregnant.  You give them some scientific knowledge, teach them a thing or two about self-respect, and teach them to “Draw the Line and Respect the Line,” and you will see our $200,000,000 a year loss to teen pregnancy do down. 

Brittany meeting with Representative Chumley during Bee Day 2012

I think abstinence is a wonderful thing.  It’s something I shared with the legislator that I practice, but it is a personal choice. I tried to explain to the representative that educating the youth with a comprehensive education is better than leaving out all the key parts of information.  When we teach history, we don’t leave out the parts about one man killing another because we’re afraid that the children are going to go out into the hall and start shooting up the place.  We don’t leave out information about how racism used to be, and arguably still is, a big problem in the State cause we’re afraid they youth are going to start race riots.  We educate them.  We encourage discovery amongst themselves so that they can see where they have the option to make the mistakes of the past generations, but they have been given the wonderful tool of knowledge and can therefore protect themselves and their community from such assaults happening again.  Depriving the youth information about a topic that is life-changing, no strike that, life-creating is irresponsible and as has been seen in our state for pretty much its entire history.  If South Carolina is going to ever leave the list of the top states with high pregnancy rates, high STI/HIV rates, high poverty, high crime, high dropout rates, high levels of families on assisted income, etcetera, we’ve got to let go of some of our flawed misconceptions.  We have to learn a thing or two from our flawed past.  We can’t attempt to change the future by only trying things from the past that haven’t failed.  That would be crazy.

Humans are predictably unpredictable.  If you can plan for the unpredictability, say by educating about contraceptives, you give people the tools they need to survive their most unpredictable years of their lives.

Tell Them

The Council met in Columbia for 2 days to learn about South Carolina’s sexual health policies stressing sex education in public schools. Members also shared ideas of how to reach the youth of South Carolina by holding events, writing blogs, and creating videos to activate members. The council is committed to making a change, empowering youth, reducing unintended pregnancies to young mothers, halting sexually transmitted infections, all while improving state health and spending.

Members were selected through an application process and will serve a one-year term. In addition to receiving a monthly stipend, they will benefit from intensive training on leadership development, public speaking, writing, grassroots organizing and government affairs.

This is the second year of Tell Them’s youth council. The Council’s formation comes at a critical time for South Carolina’s young people who face some alarming statistics: 3 in 10 young women in our state will get pregnant before age 20. One in five new HIV/AIDS cases reported in South Carolina is among people age 25 and under. And, youth ages 15-24 account for almost half of new sexually transmitted infection cases.

The Council is the result of a recent grant to the Tell Them from the Washington, DC-based Advocates for Youth. Other states including Ohio, Florida, North Carolina and Georgia have received similar grants in the past and proven that this kind of youth activism can lead to substantive policy change.

At the time of all my sex education programs I had were in Laurens County.  Laurens is known for many things but low teen pregnancy and STI rates are not on the list.  So my experience might sound pretty crazy but I am glad that it brought me to Tell Them.  We started with Sex Education programs in 5th grade.  It actually started out really well. The school divided the boys and the girls and invited the girls’ moms and the boys’ dads to come to a little program they were having.  The program consisted of a video and a presentation about how our bodies were changing or about to change.  It was actually very informative, and factually accurate.  They answered all of our questions, and if we were too embarrassed to ask at the school we could talk more about it with our parents who had just seen and heard the same things we had.  The school also provided the girls with products such as shampoo, pads and deodorant. 

The only problem I saw with the program was that no one ever mentioned how the males’ bodies were changing.  I remember my best friend and I coming out of the event just absolutely hating boys! We were so mad that they got off so easy! (Now that I know more information I still feel like they get off easy but… moving on.)

In sixth grade we skipped right to how the fetus grows inside the mother’s womb.  It was very informative as well. The only problem was no one told us how the baby got there. They did use a few scare tactics.  Instead of having actual models of what the baby looks like at different stages they had sacks with beans in it to represent how much the fetus would weigh at each stage.  It was to show us that if we got pregnant we would have to carry around that much weight plus all the weight you gain when you’re pregnant anyway. 

Things really started to go downhill after sixth grade.  The science teacher who had given us all the information that was factually accurate, regardless as to whether parts of it were for scare, was not able to teach us the next year, so a school volunteer was asked to teach us.  She had no idea what she was suppose to say; she was not trained on the subject- she was just there to confuse us even more.  One girl asked where the baby grew and the teacher replied in your belly.  Come on now, we were 12 and 13, that’s how you talk to a 4-year old when they ask about pregnant women. That’s really the only thing that sticks out about the sex education program from that year. 

In eight grade the computer teacher taught our sex ed class, by the way she was also the mother of one of the girls in the class so obviously she was completely for abstinence only.  One girl asked about something she had seen on T.V and teacher replied “That’s only something that married couples do.”

 Then came high school where we were taught sex-ed by the gym teachers.  In the 1980’s, Laurens District 55 High School was at the top of the nation for high pregnancy rates and honestly not a whole had changed by 2004 when I was there and I definitely know the reason why.  The program started with us watching a Lifetime movie about a girl who had a baby at a young age.  Then we watched a movie about a girl who got syphilis. Then we watched a clip from the 70’s about a girl going to her doctor to get tested for STDs.  Do you see where I’m going with this?

Apparently everything bad that happens is the girls fault since those are the only movies we watched.  We were never given any information, we weren’t even really told not to have sex. I think it was suppose to be implied by the movies that sex only leads to bad things.  We were never taught healthy relationships or when is a good time to have sex and when was not. I was actually never even taught what sex was to be honest; I just knew only bad things came from it.  I never learned any technical terminology and to this day I still get picked on for not knowing certain words.

The program at Laurens definitely scared me into never wanting sex because I knew absolutely nothing about it.  When I moved to Spartanburg all my friends were in sex-ed but I had technically already had “sex-ed.” They knew all kinds of terms and all the stages of the fetus life from egg and sperm to zygote and so on, however they did not learn about healthy relationships and contraceptives.  They mainly learned the biological side of things.

A very high percentage of people (boys and girls) that I went to Laurens with ended up pregnant. In fact I know 2 girls who have 3 children each and they are only 21. This is a big issue! People need to know the facts before they make decisions.  People are provided with all sorts of other facts on how to make healthy decisions why can’t this be one of them? I mean we’re talking about bringing other human beings into the world. I just feel really strongly about this issue and I am so glad that God answered my prayers and sent Tell Them to help me become more involved.  See, God knows it’s an issue too.

Tell Themis working hard with students on KIB, the South Carolina Youth Council for Policy Change, to organize events, recruit new advocates and spread a message about responsible reproductive health policies. We have been all over the state!

Many campuses in South Carolina have been hosting a play called the Vagina Monologues., and KIB Council members have  been regular attendees. Maria Jackson, of the College of Charleston, and Tim Allen, of University of South Carolina, petitioned at showings of the play at their campuses, and worked to bring awareness about reproductive health abuse to their campus. 

Brittany Pack of Converse College organized a sexual health jeopardy event and Maja Myszkowski of Clemson hosted Clemson’s annual Sex in the 21st Century Series.  Both young ladies got to see what college students really know about sexual health in South Carolina. Many students were shocked that teenagers, ages 15-19, who do not use a contraceptive the first time they have sex are twice as likely to become mothers as teenagers who use a method.

This year let’s celebrate Women’s History Month by working for better reproductive health policies with Tell Them.  Please look out for events planned on your campus to get more involved, and invite our staff to give presentations to your class or group.

Tell Them

 The 10-member council includes students from colleges and universities across the state who will advocate for improvements in sexual health education.

Council members will work in partnership with Tell Them to build a coalition of college and community advocates that support age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education.

Members were selected through an application process and will serve a one-year term. In addition to receiving a monthly stipend, they will benefit from intensive training on leadership development, public speaking, writing, grassroots organizing and government affairs.

The Council’s formation comes at a critical time for South Carolina’s young people who face some alarming statistics: 3 in 10 young women in our state will get pregnant before age 20. One in five new HIV/AIDS cases reported in South Carolina is among people age 25 and under. And, youth ages 15-24 account for almost half of new sexually transmitted infection cases.

Student advocates will be tasked with beginning a dialogue among their peers on these issues. Research shows that frank conversation about personal responsibility, pregnancy prevention and family planning is the best way to reduce unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infection rates, including HIV/AIDS. The Council will be known on campuses as Knowledge Is Best (KIB), a name selected to underscore a core goal of arming students with the information they need to make wise health decisions.

The Council is the result of a recent grant to the Tell Them from the Washington, DC-based Advocates for Youth. Other states including Ohio, North Carolina and Georgia have received similar grants in the past and proven that this kind of youth activism can lead to substantive policy change.

The SCYCPC is a collective body of college students from across the state that will advocate, organize and create social change around sexual health education. In partnership with Tell Them and Advocates for Youth, we promote a positive approach to adolescent sexual health and work to change policies around comprehensive sex education in schools.

Our mission is based on the belief that frank talk about reproduction, personal responsibility, pregnancy prevention and family planning is the best way to reduce unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infection rates, including HIV/AIDS. All of SCYCPC’s work is supported by the leadership of college students who are passionate about changing sexual health policies.

Advocates for Youth is a national organization that champions efforts to help young people make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health. Advocates for Youth believes it can best serve the field by boldly advocating for a more positive and realistic approach to adolescent sexual health. They envision a society that views sexuality as normal and healthy and treats young people as a valuable resource.

The SCYCPC will partner with Tell Them and Advocates for Youth to build the network of college and community advocates that support age appropriate, comprehensive sex education. Students will work to raise awareness and constituent support in their community and schools about sexual health policies through grassroots organizing.

Wondering what the qualifications are? You must be currently enrolled in a South Carolina college or university, be able to commit to the Council for a minimum of one school year, participate in bi-monthly meetings and presentations as well as organize events on your or nearby campuses, participate in Council activities to build a base of college and community advocates, and participate in two training sessions- the first is being held in Columbia on December 3^rd – 4^th, 2010.

Click here to download the application and apply today! Applications are due by the end of the week!

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.

This is getting really exciting! Kelly and I have been traveling around the state giving presentations about the march and meeting fantastic people. We’re trying to get some videos of our adventures up here for you to view, but we’ve been so busy that time is getting away from us.

As we begin the final 6 weeks of the Virtual March registration period (scary!!), Kelly and I are putting together our calenders and making plans, but we want to hear from YOU! Do you want to have Tell Them in your community? Have any ideas for fun videos or games we could offer? Want more information about the legislation or how the march is going?

We want to know, so please email or comment below.

Keep up the good work- forward the Virtual March to your friends and family. Get people to the website and sign up for the March!