Sex Ed Becomes a Lesson in Press Freedom (High School Newspaper)

[RamboLiberal]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/LegalCenter/story?id=1354120

Krystal Meyers was astonished when she returned for her senior year at Oak Ridge High School in Tennessee this September — three of her classmates were pregnant.

The 17-year-old was enrolled in her first journalism class, and decided to write an article to help educate her peers about birth control. "This is really affecting us and this should really go out," she told ABC News.

But when that article was published last week in the Oak Leaf, the monthly school newspaper, it was Meyers who got the lesson and an even bigger surprise.

Late last Tuesday, school officials began confiscating all 1,800 copies of the paper at the recommendation of principal Becky Ervin, before they could be distributed to the student body.

Superintendent Tom Bailey said the papers were seized because of an article on birth control as well as a two-page feature about tattoos and body piercing.

[bluestateguy]

1. That's how underground newspapers get started

It was only when my high school started censoring the newspaper that an underground paper got started for those very reasons. And the underground paper was a lot more risque than the school paper ever wanted to be.

[MADem]

3. Yep, and now that we have these here internets

you don't even have to go to the old Gestetner stencil machine to print out your opus! Print out stickers with the website, and put them all over hell, and there's yer readership!!!

[Canuckistanian]

2. Keep women ignorant and pregnant

Yup, that always works out well. Doesn't encourage abortion one bit, no it doesn't

[MADem]

5. Best if they are WHITE women, though, who will have blond, blue eyed

babies, who can be adopted in loving white homes of folks who love the white Jeeeesus!!!

Of course, nowadays, those babies don't end up getting adopted--the young mothers keep them, and cope as best they can.

[sonicx]

4. Countries with comprehensive sex education

have low teen birth rates.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. My school magazine was surprising enlightened

Back in the 80s, when AIDS had just appeared, they got one of the parents, who was a doctor doing research into AIDS, to write an article about what was known. He didn't hold back - he told us exactly what were high risk activities - I hadn't even heard of fisting until then.