For those who don’t know, the National Day of Silence is April 16th. It’s an annual event that brings attention to anti-GLBT name-calling and harassment in schools. On this day every year since 1996, students around the country have taken a day-long vow of silence to draw attention to and speak out against anti-GLBT behaviors.

Any student interested in participating should be silent between classes or out of school. The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which organizes the Day of Silence through StudentOrganizing.org, recommends that if you intend to stay silent during class time as well, clear the event with your teachers and school administration. You can also Tweet the Silence by tweeting before or after school about what you’re doing to observe the Day of Silence.

If you’re participating, make sure you register, so that a count of participants can be made. For more information, visit DayofSilence.org and speak out (or don’t!) against anti-GLBT harassment in your school, community and around the country.

-Taylor McCabe, 17, Staff Writer

World AIDS Day is held once a year, every year, on December 1. While HIV/AIDS is a daily reality that needs to be discussed and addressed, this is one particular day when people take extra time to get educated, get tested and remember the over 33 million people worldwide, living with HIV/AIDS.

AIDS-related deaths have been decreasing over the past couple of decades for two very good reasons: knowledge and treatment. Yet, HIV/AIDS still has no cure.

This World AIDS Day, we encourage you to remember that there’s a long way to go in developing a cure for HIV and overcoming the social stigma faced by those living with HIV/AIDS all over the world. And while you’re remembering, you can actually do something by participating in a World AIDS Day event near you. And there are two other things you can do, not just today, but any day:

1) Educate yourself about HIV/AIDS and
2) Get tested.

-Anita Modi, 17, Contributor

What comes to mind when you hear the words “politics,” “budgets” and “Congress?” Lots of teens might think, That’s boring. I don’t care. But what happens in Washington has a direct impact on you and your sex education. If you’ve avoided politics up to this point, now is a good time to pay attention: President Obama wants to cut funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs.

Under President Bush, ab-only programs received million of dollars. Coincidentally, teen birth rates and STDs went up. It seems like “Just say no” just didn’t work. But President Obama plans to shift money from ab-only programs to sex education programs “that stress the importance of abstinence while providing medically-accurate and age-appropriate information to youth who have already become sexually active.” In plain English, President Obama knows that you can’t just teach abstinence—teens need info about birth control and condoms, too!

But wait, don’t think that Obama can magically change your sex ed with a snap of his fingers! The budget must pass through Congress, so it’s entirely possible that the people elected to represent YOUR interests—senators and state representatives—can stand in the way of improving YOUR sex education! So don’t just stand there, do something about it!

Tell your senators and state representatives that you want, need and deserve better sex ed! Advocates for Youth has made it easy for you to contact your senators and congress members with the click of a button. So take a stand with President Obama, and fight for your right to a better sex education!

You’re 16 or 17—old enough to have a job and pay taxes. You care about issues like climate change, reproductive health care and education. And the outcome of the upcoming election will have an impact on your life for years to come. But as much as you’d like to vote, you can’t since the minimum voting age is 18. Bummer!

Do teens suddenly have the capacity to make responsible decisions on their 18th birthday? Nope. But think about the other big decisions 16- and 17-year-olds make and the responsibilities they have around their sexual health. Teens have to decide whether or not to have sex. And if they do choose to have sex, then they have to deal with the responsibility of getting tested, using birth control and communicating with their partners. We know that when teens are given honest and accurate information, they’ll make responsible choices about sex. So if we can trust teens with their sexual health, shouldn’t we be able to trust them to make responsible decisions in the voting booth?

Think the voting age should be lower? Here’s what the National Youth Rights Association has to say about that:

Global climate change is real, and yes, the polar bears are drowning. There are tons of things you can do to reduce your impact on the environment, like recycling, driving a hybrid car, using solar power and wearing a condom. Wearing a condom? Yep, wearing a condom can help save the planet.

Think about it: Humans are largely responsible for melting ice caps, oceans of garbage and disappearing animals and forests. If we want to reduce our impact on the environment and make good use of limited resources, like water, then we’ve got to reduce population growth by preventing unplanned pregnancies.

Using a condom or other method of birth control to prevent an unplanned pregnancy isn’t just about saving your own skin; it’s about protecting the environment. So do your part to save the planet and use a condom or other method of birth control if you decide to have sex.