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Take Action - End Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs

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Taking Action

by:

abril_flowers

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 11:12:00 AM EST

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This past week, the Texas Freedom Network Student Chapter at the University of Texas at Brownsville celebrated Valentine’s Day with a petition drive (these are always fun), condom goodie bags, candy, and cupcakes! Bam! On a separate note, the condoms were graciously provided by the Great American Condom Campaign!

These were our condom goodie bags!

All in all, there were mixed feelings among the students. For example, a student was passing by our table and I asked him, “Would you like some condoms?” He stopped, looked at me with a confused face, and asked me, “Are you okay?” He could not believe someone was giving condoms away on campus. Honestly, I was a little upset but I calmly responded, “Yes.” I began to tell him about the petition and surprisingly he signed it but I think he was still a little dazed. We found that the majority of students who gave us the ugliest looks when reading our FREE CONDOMS sign were females.

However, we did have few students sign the petition and take condoms. Also, I had the opportunity to speak to people about the negative effects abstinence only programs have on adolescents. Many were surprised and astonished when they heard the statistics of teenage pregnancy in Texas.

For me, it is always surprising to learn that many people here in the Valley are unaware of the severity of the situation (teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections and diseases) or are extremely close minded. I would like to think that people would want to make a change and I am more than sure that they do but they need to get past that culture barrier. Since Brownsville (like many other borderland cities) is literally right next to Mexico, we retain two cultures, the Mexican culture and the American culture. Usually, the Mexican culture dominates. Evidently, the Mexican culture tends to have disapproving views on premarital sex and contraceptive use, just like the Catholic Church (as we have seen recently in the news…). We must get past this point and look at the bigger picture. We clearly have a serious issue in which we must address correctly. Too many of our adolescents are becoming pregnant or acquiring a sexually transmitted disease and this leads to further obstacles. We need progress. Change is not always bad.