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Show THE THUNDERB1RD MONDAY f- NOVEMBER 30, 1987 PACE 5 - 1 WITH THIS COUPON e STUDENT l.D. f j 3 MOVIES FOR $5.00 MONDAY FRIDAY, o I Not valid with any otht J &od through 12 I offer Must present coupon wd student LIX Sex education in Utah: part WITH II President Harry nothing quite as dangerous as a man on a pulpit telling people that ignorance is the way to solve a problem. Two weeks ago, in an act that Truman would certainly find damnable, the wise oracles of the Weber County School Board, at the behest of a deluded group called ironically "Family Watch," refused to grant the state of Utah the ability to utilize Weber students in a study that was to shape the strategy and directions of a program to address secondary students about sex and AIDS. In a time when the threat and fear of AIDS is pervasive in our society, this irresponsible group of Utahns calling themselves "Family Watch," have not only chosen to condemn their own children to a dangerous lack of knowledge, but are now seeking to foist the same incomprehension on all children. Alarmed by the threat that AIDS poses to our teenagers, the Utah Department of Education this past year took the long overdue step of initiating a study to analyze the sexual activity of Utah teens and their knowledge regarding available contraception and AIDS. Twenty Utah counties were selected to make up the sample of the study. The state wished, in each of these counties, to solicit the help of 100 high schoolers on a voluntary basis with the approval of the students' parents. The study was to be used to create priorities within the state's education system regarding sex and AIDS education. However, at each school board hearing on the issue, the ever vigilant "Family Watchers" have surfaced to espouse their views on behalf of ignorance and their own peculiar concept of the role of the family. Central to their contention is the nature of the questions of the survey. For instance, two questions which have sparked considerable ire on the part of the "Family Watchers," inquire as to whether the respondent has ever had sexual intercourse and whether or not he or she is aware of the purpose of contraception. The opponents maintain that these questions will create "undesirable thoughts" in the minds of the responding teens. If the concept that a survey would give our teens "ideas" about sex was not put forth at such a sociologically critical time, it would certainly be laughable. National studies indicate that the average age of first sexual intercourse is 16 and, nearly three quarters of all adolescents have had sexual intercourse by the time they leave high school. In addition to this, according to research, 80 percent of our teens approve of oral sex and nearly 40 percent have actually engaged in it. It would seem that our teens are quite beyond the "idea" of sex, and the reality is, like it or not, that the majority of our teens are engaging in it. With this as the backdrop, the notion that simply researching our teen's sexuality is "morally wrong" because of the issues that it raises becomes highly questionable and beckons a certain contemptability. To our most faithful "Family Watchers," sex education rests in the domain of the home and not at school. Now, bow to no one in my reverance for the role that the family plays in our society. But, certain negative conclusions can be drawn concerning the effectiveness of our state's historic philosophy of denying our public schools. These conclusions are suggested by the fact that fewer than 30 percent of Utah high schoolers are aware of contraceptive devices, that fewer than 25 percent of Utah's sexually active teens use contraception, and that, as a result, Utah has the highest unwed teen pregnancy rate in the Western World. This overwhelming ignorance becomes deadly when it is considered, according to U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, that the adolescent group is listed as one of the potential high risk groupings for AIDS. God help our Utah adolescents if AIDS begins to sweep this state. In the event of abuse, the society is obligated to intervene in the family unit to protect children. Given the lack of sexual information being disseminated by the family and the risk that this places our teens at, it becomes imperative for society to intervene and educate our children how to protect themselves from AIDS. The scourge of AIDS, the reality of the need for sex education in our schools and the delusional way that these issues are being approached by elements of our state, creates very frightening future scenarios for Utah adolescents. It used to be that not educating our teens about sex would simply disrupt their lives with unwanted pregnancies, but now it will kill them. A very frank man from the state of Missouri, T ruman, once said that there THIS COUPON eP STUDENT l.D RENT 2 MOVIES j AND VCR FOR ONLY $5.00 j I is MONDAY IOfftr I FRIDAY. Sot valid with any good through 12 offer Mutt present coupon and LD. MOVIE SELECTION 586-989- 6 il TO m a i kS b- - i Mi dWm I fli 60 NORTH MAIN 25 f if, U- Il I i! a 0 - ifiTuKi fti.sS t ) ,N i Ley i. aHi" ii tiTiTiKy Sri, ' . jiS Itf iiiiit hj V O'1 tU v ;V) i)i Jlfcra c biYf ; X DR. fl.F. RICH. 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