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 * Teen Pregnancy**

Teen pregnancy is one of the biggest issues facing the youth of America in the last few decades. There is little to nothing that could change a teen's life like an unplanned pregnancy, and it is 100% preventable. Still, recent years have seen a spike in the number of teen cases. Education alone could help turn this situation around, simply by informing teens about how hard it can be to be a parent in high school. "The Freshmen" by The Verve Pipe is a song that directly describes the personal sufferings linked to the emotional, and sometimes physical hardships of a teen pregnancy. This is one of the many educators in the media that show a very negative side of an unplanned teen pregnancy.


 * Facts and Data About Teen Pregnancy**


 * In 2009, 409,840 infants were born to 15-19 year olds
 * 2/3 of those births to kids under 18 were unintentional
 * 1/2 of births 18-19 were intentional
 * A negative trend in the number of unplanned pregnancy began in the 1980s
 * In 2009, there was a 5% increase, breaking the trend
 * However, trend seems to be continuing down at a very slow rate
 * Anyone who has sex could get pregnant, regardless of timing, tactics, and protection
 * Abstinence is the only 100% effective way to prevent unwanted pregnancy
 * A study over 20 years (1988-2008) conducted by the CDC shows results for Never-married teenagers age 15-19 who have ever had sex
 * Women began at 51% and declined to 42%
 * Men began at 60% and declined to 43%
 * Use of protection or birth control can help eliminate numbers of unplanned pregnancy
 * Between the years 1991-2003, a study at Guttmacher Institute shows smarter use of these methods:
 * 20% increase in condom use during intercourse (58-38)
 * Withdrawal or "Pulling out" dropped from 19% to 11%
 * No contraceptive used went from 18% to 12%
 * Use of the Pill or an injection or patch remained at a steady 25%
 * Over 12 year study, there was a 21% decrease in teenage pregnancy cases
 * Once pregnant, there are 3 main options to consider:
 * 1) To go through with the pregnancy, then raise the child as the mother (and or father).Commonly referred to as parenthood.
 * 2) To go through with the pregnancy, then put the child up for adoption, or giving to another family or adult.
 * 3) To have an abortion (either medically induced or due to complications), or to terminate the pregnancy. This was the method detailed in the song "The Freshmen."


 * Decade (1990s)**
 * Time from January 1, 1990 to December 31, 1999


 * Last full decade of both the 20th century and the 2nd millennium
 * Time of technological advancements
 * Internet
 * Space Exploration (1992 deemed International Space Year by the UN)
 * Time of governmental and economic advancements and downturns
 * Democracy developed world wide
 * Poverty awareness and eradication (especially 1996)
 * Began at the end of the Cold War


 * Lyrics **

"The Freshmen" by The Verve Pipe

//When I was young I knew everything//  //And she, a punk who rarely ever took advice//  //Now I'm guilt-stricken, sobbin' with my head on the floor//  //Stopped a baby's breath and a shoe full of rice, no//

 //Can't be held responsible//  //She was touchin' her face//  //I won't be held responsible//  //She fell in love in the first place//

 //For the life of me//  //I can not remember//  //What made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise//  //For the life of me//  //I can not believe we'd ever die//  //For these sins//  //We were merely freshmen//

 //My best friend took a week's vacation to forget her// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //His girl took a week's worth of valium and slept// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //And now he's guilt-stricken, sobbin'// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //With his head on the floor// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //Thinks about her now and how he never really wept he said//

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //Can't be held responsible// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //She was touchin' her face// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //I won't be held responsible// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //She fell in love in the first place//

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //For the life of me// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //I can not remember// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //What made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //For the life of me// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //I can not believe we'd ever die// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //For these sins// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //We were merely freshmen//

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //We tried to wash our hands of all of this// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //We'd never talk of our lacking relationships// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //And how we're guilt-stricken sobbin' with our heads on the floor// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //We fell through the ice when we tried not to slip we'd say//

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //Can't be held responsible// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //She was touchin' her face// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //I won't be held responsible// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //She fell in love in the first place//

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //For the life of me// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //I can not remember// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //What made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //For the life of me// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //I can not believe we'd ever die// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //For these sins// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //We were merely freshmen// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //We were merely freshmen// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;"> //We were only freshmen//

http://www.youtube.com/user/kdschampion8#p/u/6/GQWuTicK0WA

**Artist and Song** The Verve Pipe is an American band formed in 1992. The original members were Brian Vander Ark, Brad Vander Ark, Brian Stout, and Donny Brown. However, the members of the band responsible for "The Freshmen" were Brian and Brad Vander Ark, Donny Brown, AJ Dunning and Doug Corella. The song was originally featured acoustically on their album "I've Suffered A Head Injury" which was released in 1992. "The Freshmen" was rerecorded in 1996 to appear on the album "Villains." A final recording in early 1997 was produced as a single. The song peaked at number 5 in the USA, making it the most popular song ever recorded by the band. The Verve Pipe have developed a "One Hit Wonder" reputation, and this song was their one hit. This song is a very personal song to the band. It is based off of real events in Brian Vander Ark's life (Brian being the one to write the lyrics.) The band's website said that Brian wrote it " about the guilt he felt from his ex-girlfriend committing suicide." However, it was later clarified that it was about Vander Ark's girlfriend who had an abortion. She did not commit suicide like in the song, and that is credited as "poetic license."

I think the lyrics of this song portray a very real part of growing up. It is saying that we all make mistakes as we grow up, and they become part of who we are when we learn from them. When we are young we can think we "<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;">//knew everything// " or are //<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; line-height: normal;">"wise and we'd never compromise." // And we can act on these thoughts, sometimes even aware of the consequences, feeling that we are safe in our actions. However, we all eventually come to find that that not only ourselves but others can really be effected by what we do. The lyrics explain that a boy and his girlfriend made the mistake of getting pregnant. They dealt with it by getting an abortion, but it had lasting effects on multiple people. The girl became depressed and eventually committed suicide. The boy and hist best friend had their ways of coping: the friend ran from the problem by going on a trip, and the boy denies responsibility. They both, however, have troubles, and end up "<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial;">//guilt-stricken, sobbin' with my head on the floor."// This song shows how one misguided act can effect so many people. I think the artists are really trying to make people, especially teens, stop and think about their choices, and how they can result in uncontrollable horrors.
 * Response**

I have grown up in a time where awareness and exposure of teen pregnancy and motherhood are a big part of the media. I have seen the movies and TV shows, and have seen the ads. Being a teenager today, I would like to think I am somewhat educated in this topic, because of all the attention it is given. One thing I have never doubted is the negative impact it can have on a teen's life. So, I have always been a bit surprised at the fact that this is 100% preventable, but not being prevented. It is not like all of those problems that plague our world like hunger, poverty, war, disease, or natural disaster, that can be forced upon people. No, this is a choice people make. They may not choose to get pregnant, but they do choose to have sex, and often unprotected sex. This project gave me the opportunity to look deeper into this topic. The thing that surprised me the most to learn about were the numbers. Especially years: I had no idea that this isn't a new problem. It has been going on since before my parent were born! I was also pleasantly surprised to know that the number of pregnant teens have been declining. This is probably due to the increased number of PSAs and Governmental Campaigns reaching teens. I think these actions are good, but should be increased and more widespread. The only channel I have seen a PSA for teen pregnancy is MTV. I am definitely not suggesting it be run on just any channel like Disney or Nickelodeon, where it would be inappropriate, or Golf channel where it would be useless. However, running it during a popular show on ABC, NBC, Fox etc. would be beneficial. The campaign to stop drug abuse "Above the Influence" is seen everywhere from bilboards, to TV ads, to magazines. They can be a little harsh sometimes, but the have done a spectacular job of getting the message to teens. I think a similar path should be taken with teen pregnancy and safe sex.
 * Opinion Piece **

//**__Teen Pregnancy (By Contributor):__**// __Kaiser Family Foundation:__ http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/Reaching-the-MTV-Generation-Recent-Research-on-the-Impact-of-the-Kaiser-Family-Foundation-MTV-Public-Education-Campaign-on-Sexual-Health.pdf __Centres for Disease Control and Prevention:__ http://www.cdc.gov/teenpregnancy/ http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/Data_Stats/index.htm#TeenPreg http://www.cdc.gov/search.do?q=teen+pregnancy&btnG.x=0&btnG.y=0&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&ud=1&site=default_collection __MTV:__ http://www.itsyoursexlife.com/ __MedlinePlus:__ __http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/teenagepregnancy.html__ __Guttmacher Institute:__ http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3810606.html __Others (With Regards to Teen Pregnancy):__ http://www.teenpregnancy.com/ http://bedsider.org/ http://www.sexetc.org/
 * Resources**

__Song:__ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verve_Pipe_The_Freshmen http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/7470/ __Lyric:__ http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/vervepipe/thefreshmen.html __Artist:__ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Verve_Pipe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Vander_Ark http://www.thevervepipe.com/
 * //__Song and Artist Information (By Category):__//**

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990s http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990s#Timeline http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999
 * //__Decade Information:__//**