From Kabe's old high school

[Kheldarson]

...I give you administrative idiocy in its finest.

Basically, the local high school invited an abstinence-only speaker to the school for an engagement.

However, due to the inflammatory nature of the particular speaker, students began protesting. One in particular has now been threatened by the principal for speaking to the press.

Apparently, none of the adults in charge of the school or the local board of education find a problem with her message.

I'll note, I have no problem with teaching abstinence. But your presentation should still be factual. Here's some gems from this lady:

Stenzel says birth control makes a woman "10 times more likely to contract a disease . . . or end up sterile or dead."

"If you take birth control, your mother probably hates you"

Sex also could lead to "scarred fallopian tubes and cancer . . . and you need to ask Jesus for forgiveness."

Again, the principal, members of the board of education, and the superintendent see nothing wrong with this. And the principal is threatening the student body council's VP for protesting this.

[SongsOfDragons]

Really?! *sigh*

I hope the bitch got/gets custard-pie-in-face and seriously booed at this hate assembly of hers.

[fireheart17]

But your presentation should still be factual.

This. Oh hell this. It's also one of the reasons why I don't like abstinence-only programs and I'm a firm believer in sex ed being taught at ALL schools.

[Greenday]

Sounds like an assembly I would have skipped. I refuse to sit and be lectured by someone who is purposely spreading lies.

[Panacea]

Time to call the ACLU. Students do have rights.

And this woman is a total fucking idiot. Her scare tactics don't work and will never work on teenagers, who love taking risks.

But reading what she said just made my blood boil. It is the height of irresponsibility to "win" her case by flat out LYING to people.

And the principal is even worse. He knows he did the wrong thing, so he resorts to bullying to avoid ownership of it. He's a dick.

[bex1218]

I'm glad the student stood her ground and the principal's plan was backfired. Way to go to try to ruin someone's future cause she is standing up for what she believes in.

[Aethian]

I would have walked out of this assembly and my Mom would have backed me up on it too.

[Nekojin]

There aren't many things that make my blood boil faster than deliberate spreading of misinformation, particularly when it's the "scared straight" sort of misinformation. People like the speaker need to be exposed and ridiculed for lying maliciously to children.

[bara]

Ill just leave this hear.

A pretty article of how better sex ed leads to lower teen pregnancy and lower std rates.
Knowledge is power.

[Jaden]

"If you take birth control, your mother probably hates you"?

Really? Somebody said this?

...

Really??

[Andara Bledin]

"If you take birth control, your mother probably hates you"?

Honestly, her mother probably hated her and rather than admit that either she or her mother were horrible people, she needed a scapegoat.

[fireheart17]

You know, it IS possible to teach abstinence as both an attitude towards sex and as a form of contraception.

Abstinence as birth control=guaranteed 100% side-effect free, no chance of pregnancy, STI's etc.
Abstinence as a sexual attitude=Me and/or my partner have chosen to wait until we both feel ready to take that plunge. (for moral, religious, cultural etc. reasons)

[Nekojin]

You know, it IS possible to teach abstinence as both an attitude towards sex and as a form of contraception.

Abstinence as birth control=guaranteed 100% side-effect free, no chance of pregnancy, STI's etc.
Abstinence as a sexual attitude=Me and/or my partner have chosen to wait until we both feel ready to take that plunge. (for moral, religious, cultural etc. reasons)

Sure, and nobody's arguing otherwise. But "abstinence-only" sexual teaching (can't really call it education) typically revolves around vilifying sex and those who would do it for pleasure. Nobody - nobody - is telling you that you must have sex*. It's true that abstinence is the only 100% guaranteed effective way of preventing pregnancy. You're absolutely entitled to refrain. Your body, your choice.

* Typical caveat: There are immature-minded individuals who would think less of you for not having had sex. There are also immature-minded individuals who would think less of you for having had sex. Sometimes, these are even the same person - the frat boy who thinks that every woman is either a slut or frigid, for example. But peer pressure isn't the same as people saying that you must.

[Kheldarson]

Time to call the ACLU. Students do have rights.

As a note, she did call them, and she is now being represented by a local lawyer.


But we have a follow up!

School board meeting was tonight. Turns out the husband of a board of education member donated money to bring in Stenzel. And she sees nothing wrong with that, the speaker, or with anything the principal may or may not have done.

It looks like the board isn't going to intervene between the principal and student, but they will be looking at their policies on being hands off on principal's choices of speakers.

[lordlundar]

Thankfully the university she's been accepted to (the one the principal said he was going to call and get her rejected) put up on twitter that she was going to be welcomed there.

They even put up on change.org a welcome notice to the student and mocked the principal.