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As advocates for young people’s sexual health and rights, many may not think of us as having a stake in the immigration reform game. But in fact, it’s quite the opposite. The health and wellbeing of young people both within and outside our borders, regardless of immigration paperwork, is of the utmost importance to our organization. While we may not take a stand on every issue in immigration reform, there are a few that rise to the top—some of which were included in the Senate’s Gang of Eight bill, …
Just in time for the International AIDS Conference here in Washington, DC, this week Congresswoman Barbara Lee introduced H.R. 6138, the Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic Act of 2012. This visionary bill creates a policy and financing framework for an AIDS-Free Generation.
Quoting from the Congresswoman’s press statement:
The Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic Act of 2012 increases and targets federal resources to maximize impact of HIV efforts, expands efforts to end stigma and discrimination, repeals and reforms laws that violate human rights and undermine the positive impact of resources, and…
On Wednesday, House Republicans passed the House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (otherwise known as Labor-HHS) FY 13 funding bill. In this bill, House Republicans defined their funding priorities and unfortunately (and unsurprisingly) sexual health took a tremendous hit. Here is a quick overview of how programs affecting young people’s sexual and rights fared:
Sex Education:
-The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative, which funds evidence-based and promising programs was cut from $105 million to $20 million while Community Abstinence Education was increased from $5 million …
In case you missed it, this morning the Supreme Court released their health care decision. There were two major pieces in their announcement:
• The mandate was upheld in 5-4 decision. Chief Justice Roberts joined the majority (shocking!-really it is). The majority has different opinions as to why the mandate is constitutional, but for the most part it considers the mandate a tax which Congress can legally impose on people.
• Medicaid expansion was also upheld, but should states choose not to participate in the expansion, they cannot …
CALL YOUR SENATOR TODAY – March 21
ISSUE: Congress re-imposed a ban on the use of federal funding for syringe exchange programs in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 funding process, despite overwhelming scientific evidence showing decreased HIV, viral hepatitis and drug use among syringe exchange program participants.
ASK: The Senate is in the process of making appropriations (funding) requests for FY 2013. The ban on the use of federal funds for syringe exchange programs can be added each year to the appropriations bill. We need hundreds of people to …
Editor’s Note: This blog is part of the HERvotes blog carnival.
This week is the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act and next week the Supreme Court will hear arguments from some states who are essentially trying to overturn the law for a variety of reasons.
While the Affordable Care Act is nowhere near perfect and in fact does some crappy things (sets us back on abortion and funds abstinence-only sex education programs to states for five years), there are quite a few positive advances for young people which …
Today, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced that the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee will be hosting a hearing this Thursday on “Women’s Health.” According to the announcement:
“The sole witness at the hearing will be Ms. Sandra Fluke, a third-year law student at Georgetown University, who was blocked from testifying at a recent Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing by Chairman Darrell Issa . Instead, Chairman Issa brought forward a panel of all men to testify on this topic.”
While it’s great to give Sandra a …
Yesterday I attended the House Oversight Committee Hearing entitled, “Lines Crossed: Separation of Church & State. Has the Obama Administration Trampled on Freedom of Religion?” This is the same hearing that has since become infamous for the photo (above) of the first panel featuring all men, witnesses for the majority, discussing their religious objections to contraception. The same hearing where the one female witness-nominated by the minority, never got to speak (see more on that story here).
However, as someone who was sitting in the audience at the …
As a child of the 80s, I realize there are many fights I’ve been lucky enough to miss because of the throw down activism of generations of women before me. From the right to vote to Title IX to Roe, women have been paving the way so that my generation and those that follow are not treated differently simply because we have vaginas.
But low and behold, in 2012, we are revisiting a fight that few of my generation ever thought we’d have to engage in: the fight over …
Today the House passed an appropriations bill that brought back abstinence-only-until-marriage funding that study after study has shown just doesn’t work! (Pissed? Take action and tell us what YOU would spend $5 million on #InsteadOfAbOnly) Check out sex education champion Rep. Barbara Lee speaking about why she voted against this bill.
Please take a minute to call her office and say THANK YOU for being a sex education champion! Her office number is: 202.225.2661.
And here’s another great video from today where she speaks more in depth about the other problematic issues …
So, Congress introduced its appropriations bill late last night to fund the federal government through the end of the 2012 fiscal year. There’s good news and bad news.
GOOD: Your calls to Congress made a difference! Even though new abstinence-only-until-marriage funding was reintroduced, they will only receive $5 million. That’s a step in the right direction.
BAD: We’ve seen this before. The Community Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) fund was launched with only $20 million, but its annual funding was scaled up to more than $110 million in …
In these economic times when all we hear from Congress is budget woes, we have received word that Congress is trying to bring back dedicated funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs that Congress’ own studies show just don’t work. We need to take action NOW to ensure that abstinence-only-until-marriage programs do not receive dedicated federal funding in the Fiscal Year 2012 budget.
Please take a couple of minutes to CALL the White House and the House and Senate Leadership:
Senate Majority Leader Reid – 202-224-3542
House Minority Leader Pelosi – 202-225-0100…
My favorite parts are bolded!
Sarah
———————————————————————
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release December 1, 2011
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
ON WORLD AIDS DAY
George Washington University
Washington, D.C.
10:27 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you, Sanjay. It is an honor to be with you today and to follow President Kikwete and President Bush. To Bono and Alicia, to the ONE campaign, thank you for bringing us together. Because of your work, all across Africa there are children who are no longer …
What do you think?
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This blog is part of the HERvotes blog carnival.
It seems all anyone can talk about is the new healthcare law (aka “Affordable Care Act”) that passed back in March of 2010. Whether members of Congress and people running for President are promising to repeal the law, or implementation is moving forward, it feels like everywhere I turn, there is discussion about the bill. However, I live in a policy bubble in Washington, DC (I’m a policy nerd-I admit it), and from what I hear talking to “real” …
**Update: After posting this blog, Advocates for Youth was invited to join the HERvotes. We will keep folks updated on this new campaign, including the role of young women in this area.**
Yesterday, the Feminist Majority Foundation announced a new initiative spearheaded by 20 women’s organizations entitled HERvotes with the goal to “mobilize women voters in 2012 around preserving women’s Health and Economic Rights (HER rights).”
Citing 10 policy areas they consider most “at risk,” HERvotes is trying to raise awareness among women across the country of the …
This is my second year participating in the blog carnival for the Latina Week of Action for Reproductive Justice. When I first heard the theme, ““What’s the real problem” when it comes to the scapegoating of immigrant women?” from the fabulous Miriam Zoila Perez, my first reaction was, well, blunt and not exactly printable. It was about how racism is alive and well in America — and it was a choice phrase aimed at those who exploit racism in order to marginalize communities and divide progressives.
On the …
Yesterday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released a “Dear Colleague” letter in support of Gay Straight Alliances (and similar organizations), affirming the rights of young people to form these groups at their schools as well as the important role GSAs play in helping to provide a safe space for GLBTQ young people.
In 1984, Congress passed and then-President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Equal Access Act. Interestingly enough, the faith lobby pushed for this bill’s passage as they wanted to ensure space for students to have …
Last week new polling came out on Millennials and their thoughts on a variety of “social issues.” After digging through the top line research on abortion (you can read some of my thoughts here), you’ll find buried in the middle of the report data on Millennial’s views of comprehensive sex education.
“Nearly 8-in-10 (78%) Americans favor comprehensive sex education in public schools. Among generational groups, support for comprehensive sex education is strongest among Millennials (88%).”
I’m shocked.
I mean, seriously. How many studies need to be done to …
The Public Religion Research Institute has released new research on the attitudes of millennial youth (18-29) toward abortion and a number of other social issues including gay marriage.
It’s important to note at the outset, that millennial youth favor abortion access in their local communities by a significantly higher percentage than any other age group in the population — 68% for millennial youth compared to 58% for the general public. It’s also important to note that millennial youth are generally more supportive of abortion across all the other categories …
On Tuesday, the House’s Energy and Commerce Committee voted to end mandatory funding for the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP). PREP is a state grant program to fund sex education that includes information about abstinence, contraception and adulthood preparation subjects like self esteem, parent-child communication and more.
Like in the previous markup, Republicans argued that PREP was duplicative of over $1 billion in other funding, something that we know is simply not true. PREP is the only state grant program that exists for this kind of funding. What’s …
Just wanted to make sure you saw this awesome video of Rep. Quigley speaking out against HR 3-The No Taxpayer Funding of Abortion Act, and specifically the part of the bill that would codify the Hyde Amendment and prevent federal dollars from going to abortion care to those on Medicaid. Too often Representatives will shy away from taking on the fight for taxpayer funding of abortion. It’s so refreshing to have Rep. Quigley defend low-income women’s access to abortion services. If you have a minute, call his office at 202.225.4061 …
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about the House Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health holding a hearing on five programs from the Affordable Care Act that receive mandatory funding. One of those programs is the Personal Responsibility Education Program, a five-year state grant program for sex education that includes information about abstinence, contraception and adulthood preparation subjects (good sex ed money). Like was expected, it didn’t’ stop there. Bills were introduced this week to make all of these programs discretionary (which means that Congress has to …
This week, Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health will be holding a hearing entitled, “Setting Fiscal Priorities in Healthcare Funding.” At first glance, you may be thinking, “Oooh! Congress is finally getting it right! A hearing on how Congressionally mandated studies show Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage programs DO NOT work! Let’s really talk about fiscal responsibility! Success!”
But then you’d wake up because you’re clearly dreaming.
While Congress IS holding a hearing entitled, “Setting Fiscal Priorities in Healthcare Funding,” Republicans are focusing on bills they consider duplicative, which in this …
Defunded. That’s what the House of Representatives just voted to do to Planned Parenthood. The House voted to zero out ALL federal dollars that go to this much needed organization that has 830 health centers across the country. This action would affect Planned Parenthood’s ability to receive funding from the Title X family planning program (if this funding stream even continues to exist), sex education (many PP clinics provide comprehensive sex education), Medicaid and more. If this goes through the Senate and passes through the White House, Planned Parenthood …
It’s been great to see so many people speak out about the GOP’s attempt to redefine what kind of rape qualifies for federal funding of abortion in the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” (HR 3). As a pro-choice activist who is constantly looking to bring more people into this movement, it’s been awesome to see so many new faces get pissed off and take action. As a result, the GOP has decided to drop “forcible” and revert back to existing language around exceptions (ALL rape, incest and life …
Mark your calendars! The day after the State of the Union (which btw is Tuesday at 9pm EST so tune in!), the White House Office of Public Engagement will be holding a youth call.
David Plouffe, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor as well as Stephanie Cutter, Assistant to the President for Special Projects will be speaking about a variety of issues including jobs, the economy, the Affordable Care Act and education.
We’re crossing our fingers there will be time for a Q & A so start thinking about what you would ask! Given it’s our Roe v. Wade Blogathon, perhaps …
This weekend the Senate voted on two pieces of legislation that we had mobilized our activists around: the DREAM Act and the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
The good news is that in a decisive 63-33 vote, the Senate decided to end debate on the issue of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal (60 votes were needed), which lead to a 65-31 vote (51 were needed) that ultimately will repeal the measure. There is a 60 day window for the President and Joint Chiefs to move forward on …
Check out the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division’s new video for the "It Gets Better" Project. I love that at the end they speak out about how the law should protect young people by demanding schools stop harassement, but if they aren’t the Justice Department will step in.
"We will step in to make sure the school is doing its job so that the harassment stops and so that students don’t have to suffer. If you are being harassed at school, you need to know that help is out there today."
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As you have probably seen in the news, tonight the DREAM Act passed in the House! Yay! The vote was 216-198 (20 members did not vote and it’s assumed they are no longer in DC). 38 Dems voted against the bill, but they are not unfamiliar to our sexual health community (Stupak, Costello, Kaptur, etc.) and many are not coming back in January. The good news is that the bill remained relatively bi-partisan as 8 Republicans did vote for DREAM. It should be noted that only two of …
The time is finally here.
According to folks on the Hill, Congress is actually going to vote on the DREAM Act as early as Wednesday (tomorrow) and we need you all to keep the calls coming in to support its passage! Voicemail boxes aren’t full yet and staff on the Hill have told us that it’s often "older" people calling in and objecting to DREAM. We need you to take action!
Call the switchboard (866-587-3023) and ask for the following members:
Senate Democrats:
Conrad (ND)
Dorgan (ND)
McCaskill (MO)…
As you have probably seen all over the news, Congress is moving quickly on the DREAM Act, a bill that would give undocumented students a pathway to citizenship if they go to college or the military. This is an incredibly important bill as it affects the lives your fellow youth activists. This is why Advocates for Youth is standing in solidarity with our undocumented young people and trying to get as many sexual health activists as possible to mobilize in support.
I have worked for comprehensive sex education with
…
…she wore purple today in the Situation Room. Based on the video that Samantha posted, I’m going to guess it was to be in solidarity with queer youth. If only we could get more adult allies to do the same!
Hey Amplify readers,
Here’s a piece written by an amazing teacher I know in Texas. Hope you enjoy.
xoxo,
Sarah
It’s National Coming Out Day, and in the wake of so much senseless violence and hateful speech–and more of it coming every day, I felt compelled to share my own perspective on what being gay means to me.
Being gay means…
…that my wife and I argue over dirty dishes and whose turn it is to take out the trash–like any other married couple.
…that in spite of the fact
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While I was in college, I was involved in sexual health issues internationally: HIV/AIDS, family planning, child marriage, etc. After graduating I moved to the Texas-Mexico border to teach high school. Who would have guessed I’d have to continue those fights while trying to push my kids for academic success?
My first year teaching I had 9 parents in my classroom. I taught at a 9th and 10th grade only campus. When I did some digging to learn what kind of sex education my students received, I was shocked …
Today about a dozen young people fighting for the passage of the DREAM Act, a bill that would give undocumented young people who graduate from high school and attend college or the military a pathway to citizenship, staged a sit-in in the Senate Hart Office Building. They had a sign that said, “Undocumented and Unafraid” and “DREAM Act Now.”
This was a brave act of civil disobedience to bring attention to the plight of undocumented …
Ladies, it’s time to get angry. Men, you can join too. In fact, for this one, we need all the help we can get.
Last week, HHS announced that abortion (except in the case of rape, incest or life endangerment of the mother) would not be covered in the temporary insurance pool established for those with pre-existing conditions. (One thing to note: this option goes away once it becomes illegal to deny people health insurance coverage because of pre-existing conditions and they can enroll in the exchange in 2014).…
Last week a press conference was held by Congressional leaders to encourage their colleagues to support the passage of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) as part of any immigration reform legislation.
The Uniting American Families Act would allow a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to sponsor their same-sex partner for immigration to the U.S. Currently this right does not exist for same-sex couples.According to Steve Ralls at Immigration Equality,
“There are an estimated 36,000 lesbian and gay Americans who have an immigrant partner. Nearly half of those families —
…
Last night I had the honor of attending a reception at the White House for HIV/AIDS Activists. It was in celebration of the release of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, a document that has been promised since the start of the Obama Administration, but needed for over thirty years.
To speak directly to the strategy, it’s not bad. Much needed benchmarks have been established and communities hardest hit by the HIV epidemic are both recognized and prioritized in the strategy. The Office of National AIDS Policy is talking about the needs of …
This makes me soooooooo happy! I can’t believe I just saw it and it’s been on YouTube for three months. Anyway, enjoy!
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This week, HIV/AIDS advocates announced a campaign for a youth advisory council to the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). PACHA is responsible for working with the Office on National AIDS Policy (ONAP) to monitor the development and implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.
While we at Advocates for Youth support every effort to have meaningful youth input, the idea of a youth advisory council to PACHA brings up larger questions that must be resolved.
First, why do we need to have a youth advisory council to the …
AIDS Drug Assistance Programs provide medications to over 166,000 individuals. Unfortunately, many state ADAPs have been forced to put in place barriers to access such as reducing the eligibility, changing the formulary, and closing enrollment. Over 1,000 individuals in ten states are on waiting lists to receive their life-saving and life-sustaining medications through this program. Without immediate additional funding the situation is going to get much worse. We need your help to ensure that the …
While I am only 26, I have to admit…there are some shows I enjoyed that may be, eh, a little out of my age group. I love “Brothers and Sisters.” It’s a great show and occasionally they take on socials issues I’m passionate about. This Sunday the topic was HIV. Saul, the uncle who is in his 60s, had a discussion with his nephew and his partner about HIV testing. Saul, who only recently came out after being closeted most of his life, confessed he’s never been tested. This conversation was started because …
Check out the piece about GenderBloc’s GenderF*ck Drag Show featuring your favorite and mine…Heywood Jablowme.
Genderf*ck
By Jayna Barker | The News Record
The bathrooms adjacent to Catskellar in Tangeman University Center are exactly the same — two stalls, two sinks, towel and soap dispensers. There isn’t even a urinal in the men’s bathroom. Most people can’t tell the difference between the two. Yet, within 30 minutes of two
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I haven’t seen this movie as it was JUST released, BUT it looks A-MAZING. I’ll admit…I teared up during the preview.
If you have seen it, please share your thoughts on it! If not, I’m hoping you’re as excited as I am for it to come to your city!
Review to come…but I couldn’t resist sharing the preview.…
Yesterday the President took a historic step in signing health care reform into law. There are many things in that legislation that will benefit young people. This new bill:
…
Last week I was invited to attend the Latino Commission on AIDS’ Reunion Latina in Albany, NY. This annual training institute brings together AIDS service providers, activists, and people living with HIV/AIDS mainly from New York state but also other communities.
What an amazing experience!
I arrived after Teatro El Puente‘s performance during the opening. While I was sad to miss the performance, it was incredible to walk into a room of 200 of the most diverse group of Latinos I’ve ever seen, nearly all in tears, giving …
Awesome work, Joe!!
by Ashley Jobe, February 23, 2010
The national community pleads with its youngest generation to be safe about sex, and Elon University students fall well within the demographic that receives that message, but safer sex options are not always readily available.
Two years ago, SGA was faced with a proposal to make condoms available in dormitories.
"This was voted through the Senate but vetoed by the Executive President Rob Saunders," Justin Peterson, current SGA executive president, said. "Since then the idea has
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I’m absolutely disgusted.
I’m so tired of anti-choice organizations, usually lead by old white men and women, talking about the supposed "black genocide" because women in this country are allowed to make decisions about their personal health. Yes, I’m talking about abortion.
In Atlanta, the Georgia Right to Life has erected the following billboard.
Stating that all the abortion clinics in Georgia are located in black urban areas, they try to make the connection that the fertility rates are declining. BTW-according to the CDC, that is false.
Here’s what drives …
Every now and then I hope to have the opportunity to share awesome job announcements to the Amplify community.
To kick this off, I’d like to introduce you all to one of our closest partner organizations, Choice USA, located here in the beautiful and soon to be super snowy Washington, DC!
Choice USA is working to empower the diverse, upcoming generation of leaders who promote and protect reproductive freedom – both now and in the future. We are dedicated to the right of each person worldwide to decide …
Okay. I have a confession. I’ve never taken a womens studies class. Well, I guess technically I did, but it was more international than an intro. So when people start to name some of the great feminists of the past and discuss various waves of feminism, sometimes I get confused. Let’s be honest, unless you take a class, and that class is most likely only offered in college, it’s intimidating to jump into the wealth of information around women’s history.
So I recently decided to attack my ignorance. I …
Props to Michele Buzzelli and all her great work!
Student gives away condoms
By Lily Oberman, the Ithacan Online
Junior Michele Buzzelli was recently selected to participate in the Great American Condom Campaign, an underground, grassroots network that distributes condoms on college campuses around the country.
Buzzelli is considered a “SafeSite,” meaning she offers students a safe place to get free condoms, as well as information on sexual health. Two weeks before Thanksgiving break, Buzzelli received a shipment of 500 Trojan condoms to distribute to students for free.…
Today we received great news in the battle for needle exchange programs. The federal funding ban on syringe exchange programs was lifted in the appropriations bill AND does not have the crazy restrictions we saw in the House version.
*Note-the bill still needs to be voted on, but at least we have good language for a vote! This vote should happen before the end of the year.
Previously, there was a federal funding ban on syringe exchange programs even though these programs have been proven as an effective HIV …
On Wednesday I had the privilege of being on Capitol Hill for the Stop Stupak Day of Action. Organized by dozens of progressive organizations, pro-choicers of all ages gathered to lobby members of Congress, rally and make sure it’s known that we will not accept Stupak-like language in any kind of healthcare reform.
From a youth perspective, it was an…interesting day of action. I arrived to see fellow youth organizers (coordinated by Edith from Choice USA!) leading guerilla-style lobby trainings in the auditorium where everyone gathered for …
A lot has happened in the past few weeks. The House passed health care reform that included anti-choice language that would limit women’s ability to access abortion services through their insurance company. The Senate introduced their bill which has “compromise” language that still prevents the federal funding of abortions. For some reason, lawmakers seem to think that because abortion is legal, women are able to access abortion services. We all know this is false. If you can’t pay for an abortion, you can’t get an abortion. It’s that simple.From GACC SafeSite Jordan who attends Appalachian State University.
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Today is National Latino AIDS Awareness Day. I know there are a lot of AIDS Awareness Days out there, but I thought now would be a good time to share why this day means so much to me.
Somewhere around 1979-1980, my uncle, David Leos, was infected with HIV. We don’t know exactly when it happened because when he started getting sick no one knew what he with sick with and why. He was hospitalized and quarantined, but see, when all this was happening, I wasn’t even alive. By the …
When people think of National Coming Out Day, they usually think of a time for members of the GLBT community to come out to their family, friends and community. It is. And I don’t want in any way to take from that.
However, after experiencing the National Equality March this weekend, I’ve come to realize that it’s time for allies to get their asses out of the closet as well.
I’m so tired of hearing people say they are down with the GLBTQ comunity because they have a friend who is gay, an …
Elon students seeking to find more information about sexual health on campus have a new resource. The Great American Condom Campaign has recently opened a SafeSite at Elon.
Operated by freshman Joe Kiernan, the Great American Condom Campaign is a grassroots initiative sponsored by the Amplify Your Voice foundation. The purpose of the campaign is to provide students with SafeSites that provide free condoms and the necessary educational
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Mahayana wrote a great post about what looks like will be another referendum on gay marriage…this time in Maine.
Equality Maine is gearing up for a fight and I’m so excited to share their first TV spot. Made my favorite Maine-iac tear up and I’ll confess…me too :)
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As we all know, my lovely homestate of California decided to act like idiots and pass Prop 8. *sigh*
While clearly disappointing, a good thing that has come out of the loss is the grassroots GLBT community has become more mobilized than ever to fight for change. Which brings me to…Textbooks for Change.
Textbooks for Change recognizes that students have been at the head of social change movements for years and has figured out a way to encourage activism at the most basic level…buying textbooks. That’s right. When …
"We Are More" by Ernesto Dominguez. …
This week, members of Advocates for Youth staff and the Youth Activist Network are participating in the National Council of La Raza’s Lideres Summit. The National Council of La Raza is the largest Latino civil rights organization in the country. Every year, they host a national conference that brings together members of the Latino community from across the country. The Lideres Summit is a pre-conference program for young Latinos (14-25) to learn new skills, network, share ideas and connect with other young leaders.
Today we presented the workshop …
This should be shown on TV…
Could you imagine the backlash?
*sigh*
If only our country was that cool……
Today I just learned about Strapped Condoms. I was pretty upset I had never heard of them until I realized they are only sold online, in the South and a few other key cities. What I love about this condom is that it targets the young African American community in a way that appears to be pretty positive. Artists like Lil Wayne, Sean Kingston, Snoop Dogg and Jamie Fox have promoted the brand and Drake has most recently been added to the roster.
Another great thing is that …
Last night I curled up on my couch to watch “Pedro,” the MTV biopic about Pedro Zamora, a cast member from the Real World San Francisco in 1994.
To summarize, I laughed, I cried, I was inspired, and I was pissed by all the lame commercials interrupting what was clearly an emotional journey.
What struck me most about Pedro was how aware he was in making sure the cameras were always rolling. He told the producers, “Just promise me you’ll keep the cameras going every step of the way …
As I mentioned in a previous blog, tonight MTV will be showing its new biopic, "Pedro" on MTV, MTV3 and Logo. I am super excited and even skipping out on my favorite hip hop class to watch.
You may be wondering why I am so excited.
Well, I am of the age that barely remembers Pedro appearing on the Real World: San Francisco. I mean, I was 10 years old when it aired and MTV was, well, MTV (as in Mom and Dad weren’t too excited about letting …
Recently Lifestyles condoms started advertising for its newest condom, Lifestyles SKYN. The newest non-latex condom to hit the market, Lifestyles SKYN is made out of polyisoprene, which was recently approved by the FDA. This is great news for the estimated one tenth of the US population that suffers from some sort of latex allergy. Previously there had only been polyurethane and lambskin (lambskin condoms do not prevent the transmission of STDs) available for this population.
Promising “It’s the closest thing to wearing nothing” the SKYN advertisements are …
Exciting news, ya’ll. MTV3 made a movie about Pedro Zamora. Do you remember Pedro? If not, I hope you at least heard of him. Pedro was a cast member on MTV’s “Real World San Francisco” (that was during the crazy season with Puck waaay back in 1994). Not only was Pedro one of the first Latinos on the Real World, but he was the first (and I believe only…correct me if I’m wrong) openly gay, HIV positive man on the show. 
Pedro was fierce. He did not …
According to an article in Elle Magazine, Zac Efron’s Mom gave him a stocking full of condoms for Christmas. Apparently earlier in the year photos had been circulating of Zac and his girlfriend, Vanessa Hudgens, shopping in what appeared to be a sex shop. So Mom initiated the conversation and voila! According to Zac,”She buys me the economy box.”
My first reaction…AWESOME! Go, Mom! While yes, conversations with parents about sex can be incredibly awkward, it’s is incredibly important to have them (especially if they end with a Mom being
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Congrats to SafeSite Abtin Mehdizadegan from the University of Maine who got an awesome article published in his school newspaper about the GACC and his condom distribution efforts!
Five hundred condoms are being delivered directly to the dorm room of Vice President for Student Entertainment Abtin Mehdizadegan within the next two to four weeks. They will then be sent to various locations on the University of Maine campus to be distributed throughout the student body.
The campaign recently
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On Wednesday morning, Colorado State Senator Dave Schulthesis stated he was going to vote against a bill to require HIV testing for pregnant women because it would reward “sexual promiscuity”. Literally. He said that. But it gets even worse.
He later clarified his statement. And because we couldn’t possibly make this up, let’s pull some quotes:
"What I’m hoping is that yes, that person may have AIDS, have it seriously as a baby and when they grow up, but the mother will begin to feel guilt
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GREAT news. We are in the process of distributing half a million condoms to college students across the country!
The awesome part of working on the Great American Condom Campaign is that I get to hear why people want to become SafeSites and what they plan on doing when they receive their condoms.
Here are a few of my favorite stories this time around:
Last week I received a phone call from a woman who runs a health services center at a free all boys trade school (post-high school). …
This summer Advocates for Youth re-launched the Great American Condom Campaign – an underground movement to distribute one million condoms on college campuses where there otherwise would be little or no condom distribution. Advocates solicited applications from college students from across the US. Each successful applicant became a “SafeSite” on his/her campus and received 500 Trojan condoms for distribution.
Applications for Fall 2008 SafeSites opened in September and by the close of the application cycle we had 1400 applicants! While it did take a bit longer than we had hoped …
Today is National Latino AIDS Awareness Day and what I thought was the appropriate time to first, kick off my blog, and two, explain a little bit about who I am.
My name is Sarah and I have never known a time without AIDS. My uncle was infected before I was born and he was always a huge part of my life growing up. Coming from Bakersfield, California, there were not a lot of ways to get involved in the “movement” and it wasn’t until I …
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