California high school senior Margaret Dupes had an editorial about abstinence-only education pulled from her school paper - and now she's fighting back, along with a students' rights organization.
"Why do the schools only preach 'abstinence only' education?" Dupes wrote in her editorial. "It is not the decision of your health teacher, your principal, the school nurse, or even your school board - but a decision forced upon state and local governments by the Bush Administration that is ideologically, rather than empirically, driven."The piece never saw the light of day. Fallbrook High Principal Rod King ordered the student paper's adviser, Dave Evans, to pull it from the last issue in May.
"I didn't really understand why this was being pulled," Dupes said. "Mr. Evans said that Mr. King was uncomfortable with the content."
Now the Student Press Law Center is protesting the decision - here's hoping something comes of it.
It's kind of hilarious that schools have no problem teaching medically inaccurate, biased information about sex and relationships, but a little free speech makes them "uncomfortable."
(By the way, on the off chance that Dupes reads Feministing - you can publish your editorial here!)
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I grew up in Fallbrook and went to Fallbrook High. (Kind of exciting seeing the ol' alma mater here at Feministing!) Can I just say: not surprising. I would be shocked if any article containing anything against the hard-line Christianist point of view, or any article indicating that sex actually exsists, were to make it into a FUHS paper.
Fallbrook actually reminds me a lot of how Texas is portrayed. Tons of money, very white, with lots of cowboy hats, homophobia, ladies who lunch, racism (especially against Latinos), and a church on every corner. Physically beautiful, and there are lots of avocados, but let's just say I can't tell you how many times I got told I was going to hell because I didn't go to church. Oh yeah, and the ex-grand dragon of the KKK lives there too.
I hope that this lawsuit goes to fruition, but I can tell you I bet this girl's family is taking heat for this.
Hah. I had almost the same thing happen to me when I was editor of my high school paper in Alabama. I published an editorial on the need to provide condoms to students alongside the abstinence-only education program.
The day after it ran, I was called to the vice-principal's office and told in no uncertain terms that a) I would run a counter editorial supporting the school's position for abstinence-only education, and it would not be written by me and b) the school was extremely displeased with my decision and that this would not happen again.
Funny thing is, CA doesn't take funding, and to my knowledge has comprehensive sex ed. state wide. So she's not even criticizing her own school--I don't see why they care.
Not surprising. It's downright frightening what scarily outspoken, right-wing parents/board members can do to a school. And it's happening everywhere. I've seen it often in my time as a teacher. I don't understand why these people seem to think they can force their religious beliefs on all students in a school. If you want to shield your child from the secular world, fucking send them to private school or homeschool them. But please, don't force your nonsense on other students or teachers.
Ismone: I know, right. I'm pretty sure California was the only state to reject federal abstinence-only funding from the very beginning. And now other states are just recently following suit.
According to GoogleMaps, Fallbrook is down by Camp Pendleton, and while that might not be quite as far out in the physical and ideological boondocks as, say, Yreka (go Miners!), I can bet it's not exactly what we'd call progressive. If there are California teachers on here who can clarify, that'd be great, but I don't know if there are teaching standards for sex ed the same way there are for other subjects, so even though the state isn't taking ab-only money, school boards can probably get around those pesky "comprehensive" requirements. And even if there are standards, it isn't difficult to slant your presentation of the facts.
I'm repulsed by the school and deeply impressed by the student(s) who put this forth...I hope she's the one who emerges victorious, that her story is reported everywhere (if the professionals,parents,kids and advocates who have been speaking out about this bs have been silenced or rebuked, what chance does she have?), and that this fucking country wakes up.
Wow, I went to Fallbrook High and wrote for the Tomahawk! Crazy to see it on here.
Fallbrook doesn't seem like it should be in the rest of CA. It feels like it's from the South. It's ultra-conservative - I did NOT fit in there! In fact, I got a TON of heat for my liberal, queer, veg*n views. It does not surprise me one bit that this has happened.
When I took the "health" class that's required there (back in 2001 or 2002), we didn't learn shit was probably about condoms or safe sex. It sure as hell seemed like abstinence only education - I don't know if it has changed since then or what. I DO clearly remember my math teacher telling all of us students that condoms aren't very effective and there's a bunch of stuff condoms won't protect about...but that's the only thing I ever heard about condoms from that school.
I think it's horrible they canceled newspaper class! That was one of the very few cool things about that school.
Fun fact: when I went there, it was Fallbrook Union High School. FUHS. Seriously.
oops, that bit was supposed to read, "...we didn't learn shit about condoms or safe sex..." and "...condoms won't protect you from..."
Sorry - typos abound when I'm fired up about something!
I think everyone with a blog or website should offer to publish this editorial -- let it appear everywhere but Dupes' school paper!
Am I one of the lucky few who received sex education in the 8th grade? I don't recall how much detail they went into about safe sex practices, but I do remember a good lesson on condoms. It was my P.E. teacher who taught the class and when she displayed the condom, she told the girls not to be fooled by any guy who refuses to use protection because he claims his penis is too big for it. To prove her point, she wrapped the condom over her entire hand and (because the condom didn't break) added that no guy's penis could be this big. When a male student in the class made a sarcastic giggle in response to that, she kicked him out immediately. Ha ha ha!
The principles freak out because they are worried about the school board hearing "You allowed a paper to advocate for TEEN AGE SEX!" The School board is worried about hearing from the voters.
Or there are some prigs on the school board as well. This is a total "risk reduction" attitude though by the principle. Why stick his neck out when it can only get chopped off by those above him?
Discontented Clownfish -- wonder if we know each other? I was also a liberal veggie, didn't go to church, and wasn't rich. Didn't fit in either -- whenever the class got around to discussing, well, anything interesting, it was me against everyone else. Sounds like you're younger than I am though (grad 1998).
Ismone -- California didn't take the money, but I can tell you with certainty that Fallbrook has chosen to do ab-only, by whatever method that came about. In fact, you have to send home a permission slip to even take the health class that tells what sex is and where the different organs are.