Activist Profile: Deborah W.

Fifteen-year-old Deborah, who attended the Oregon 2011 camp, is committed to young women like herself having access to reproductive health care and education no matter what their social or economic background is. At camp, she felt like she got the tools to go from "just being a loony teenager" to someone who could be active and make a difference on this issue. Since then, she started volunteering at and fundraising for Planned Parenthood in Portland -- and made such an impression that she was recently invited to speak at their annual luncheon in front of 900 people! You go, Deborah! To read more about Deborah's efforts, click here.

Did You Know?

The state of Arizona recently banned all of the Ethnic Studies classes that were being taught in public schools there and has banned books taught in those classes that celebrate Mexican and American Indian history. See some of the books that were banned, and their authors' reactions here. Students in Arizona are currently suing to challenge the legality of this law. To learn more, check out "No History Is Illegal: A Campaign to Save Our Stories."

Activist Tip

Turn your complaints into requests to bring about change. If you're not sure what issue to work on, notice what you are complaining about since you obviously care about that. Usually what causes things to change is not complaining, though, but thinking about who has the power to make a key decision and then making direct or indirect requests to persuade that person to take the action you want. Check out how college activist Ann Mai turned her complaint about the food at the University of Texas - Arlington cafeteria into a request by writing an article for her school paper.