So, which one of us has an STD?

According to a recent article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, one in four teen girls between the ages of 14 and 19 is infected with an STD. This study means that in a high school classroom of 20 kids, five of them are likely to have a sexually transmitted condition. Yikes! Makes you look at your lab partner in a different way, doesn't it?

The study only tested for four types of STDs: Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Chlamydia, trichomoniasis and the herpes simplex virus. Planned Parenthood names a handful of other STDs and STIs that the study chose not to test for, including gonorrhea, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS and others.

According to Planned Parenthood, STDs are transmitted to females more easily than they are passed on to males. This means that girls are constantly at a higher risk of receiving an STD. Luckily, sexually active girls (and boys of course!) can take measures to protect themselves.

The only way to completely protect yourself from STDs and avoid unplanned pregnancies is to abstain from sex altogether. But because abstinence-only education isn't always realistic, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) also suggests maintaining an exclusive relationship with one uninfected person who has been tested, consistently using condoms for all sexual activity, and getting vaccinated for hepatitis A and HPV.

The AJC article also cites that one of the causes of this epidemic might be the idea among some teen girls that only sexual intercourse counts as sex, even though oral sex and some other types of intimate contact can transmit STDs.

Demanding to use a condom for every sexual encounter might make you feel a little lame, but hey, wouldn't you rather be "overly" cautious than get warts?

Yeah, I thought so, too.

—Catherine |VOX Staff

Fulton County Paying Students to Study

Studying has always been an invaluable tool used to help with the mastery of knowledge and retention of information by memory. In January, Fulton County awarded 40 students at Creekside High and Bear Creek Middle $8 an hour for participating in the "Learn & Earn" after-school tutoring program. According to a news release from the district, the county's efforts are meant to determine whether paying students to study will improve test scores, grades and classroom attendance.

I do not agree with motivating students to study by paying us money. Giving students money for something that is already expected of us gives a false sense of rigor. The reward for studying should be the resulting stellar grades or the increase knowledge in the subject matter, not monetary rewards. If we are paid to study, we might expect to receive something materialistic for skills that should give us personal satisfaction and reap natural rewards. What will happen later in college when the kids who are being paid now aren't receiving any money for studying? I think they might lose motivation.

- Gabrielle Moore | Special to VOX

Communication Technology (My Blogs Don't Count)

Communication technology is so entrenched in our lives that no one thinks twice when a classmate texts under the table during a biology lab, but we all feel blasphemed when someone deletes his or her Facebook profile.

In fact, in a survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 84 percent of teens reported to owning a desktop or laptop computer, a cell phone, a PDA, or a similar personal media device. That’s a lot of texting, IMing, and other high-tech communicating going on- sad, when we remember only 30 percent of 8th graders read at or above the “proficient” level.

This obsession with impersonal communication is pretty weird. According to this study, a greater percentage of high school seniors go online than graduate. Ouch.

-Catherine Cai|VOX staff

Hand sanitizer anyone?

Can you imagine going to school and having no water? Unfortunately, that was the case on Friday, February 29, 2008 at the infamous Booker T. Washington High School.

Due to a broken water valve, which had flooded part of our school gym, the administration decided to shut off the building’s water supply. When our principal came on the intercom, he stated that there was no need to advise our parents about the situation of water and gas, but the principal failed to realize that the situation was becoming unsanitary. Males continued to use the restrooms without shame and so did females. Handrails, doorknobs, desks, and keyboards were all being touched by unwashed hands.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Influenza (the flu) kills about 36,000 people each year and the #1 way to stop the spread of the virus is to wash your hands with soap and water. Yesterday, the school placed the student body in a dangerous situation. No water for seven hours.

-Chernail Arnold/VOX staff