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Show *.... .... A10 , education ' 2..i7 S OPINIONS ■ f • I # ■ Because Utah schools fail to teach sex education beyond abstinence, college students have a greater risk of unplanned pregnancy and STDs. By Kelly Cannon Asst. Culture Editor I f a college student was educated in a Utah public school, chances are he or she has no idea of how to use a condom. According to Utah state law, public schools teaching sexual education must stress, "the importance of abstinence from all sexual activity before marriage" (Section 53A-13-101.4 of Utah Legislation). Utah school districts following an "abstinencebased" sexual education curriculum are deliberately withholding information on how to be sexually responsible and are leaving its students unprepared for life. It has been shown that teens who abstain from sexual activity are less likely to be depressed. A study performed by the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health found sexually active teenagers are two to three times as likely to suffer from depression than nonsexually active teens. But once teens reach adulthood and are considered emotionally and psy- chologically prepared for sex, students from Utah public schools do not possess the basic knowledge of how to be sexually responsible. The problem lies in the misinformed belief that teaching any form of contraception will seem like encouragement to be sexually active. Utah school districts following an "abstinence-based" sexual education curriculum are deliberately withholding information on how to be sexually responsible... According to Dr. Douglas Kirby in his article "Emerging Answers: Research Findings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy," there is no evidence so far that proves abstinence-only education prevents or delays teen- age sexual activity. What is even more startling is Dr. Kirby has found that student receiving abstinenceonly education are forgoing any contraceptive methods, thereby increasing their risk of pregnancies and STDs. For many students, college is a time to explore the choices in their lives. If students begin to explore the sexual aspects of life without proper knowledge of how to be responsible, this can increase their chances of pregnancy or STDs. Another problem lies within the culture Utah school districts are located. In a conservative society, where sex before marriage is taboo, there is no room to allow frank discussion on what to do if one chooses to have sex. These college students are left in the dark when it comes to their safe sex options because they have been taught that even having conversations about sex is wrong. This also may lead to students not seeking out information regarding how to protect themselves against pregnancy and STDs. They may feel they would be 1 I / I Carly Montgomery/UVU Review High school sex education in Utah leaves college students clueless about sex. by their friends, family and neighbors. The lack of responsibility of the Utah school districts carries repercussions that occur at the university level. Women who find themselves pregnant often feel pressure from society to marry. Such unions often force both the man and woman to drop out of school and work to support a family. Often, women in these judged situations never return to school. According to research conducted by the Center for Disease Control, Utah is one of 12 states that has had a significant increase in the percent of mothers with fewer than 12 years of education. Utah school districts that allow its students to leave public education without basic knowledge of sexual responsibility are knowingly exposing them to risks that could endanger their chances of graduating from college. In order for school districts to claim they have fully prepared its students for college and for life, they must implement a more contraception-friendly sexual education curriculum. The vegan dilemma Vegans choose to abstain from animal products out of moral and ethical concerns. Despite a sympathetic community, vegetarian and vegan options on campus are few. By Diego Ibaiiez Opinions Writer hen Co-President of the Animal AlW lies Club Breana Reichert Courtesy of Stock.xchng Students and faculty have asked for vegetarian and vegan meal options on campus, but so far little has permanently changed. While the university has many other issues to address, such as gay rights, immigration and budget cuts, it seems that vegans and vegetarians have been put on hold for the time being. wants to eat at the cafeteria or other food services on campus, her choices are limited. As a vegan, she chooses not to consume any products or by-products that come from animals. She can give a whole list of reasons why she is vegan, including how much healthier it is and how much better it is for the environment — a lot of carbon waste can be traced back to the food industry, particularly meat production. "The AAC club has tried at least twice previously to work with the UVU dining services, but both attempts have failed," said Reichert. According to Reichert, the school does not seem to take her or her kind seriously enough to permanently change to more veganfriendly menus. Philosophy professor Dr. Karen Mizell is another vegan on campus. "When I discovered how workers are exploited in these slaughterhouses and how corporations like Monsanto are patenting seeds, I thought to myself, 'I can't support this' ," Mizell said. Her family soon had a major shift for moral reasons. She came across videos and literature on how farm animals were being treated. This, she saw, as the ethical reason to change her eating choices, including pushing for changes in the university's food choices. Brittany Pendleton, copresident of AAC, admits that Provo and Orem are surprisingly vegetarian-friendly, but this campus is behind in putting that philosophy into practice. According to Val Brown, director of dining services, about 10 to 12 years ago he found that they were getting a significant amount of requests, about 3 or 4 a month, for vegetarian dishes. While the university has many other issues to address, such as gay rights, immigration and budget cuts, it seems that vegans and vegetarians have been put on hold for the time being. But many social issues are closely related. "Animal rights has many ties to feminism, workers rights, environmental awareness and should be right at the top of the list," said Reichert. This does not, however, have to continue to be a negative situation. According to Brown, all you have to do is let dining services know about an hour in advance and they can prepare a vegan or vegetarian dish. "We also have vegetarian items on the menu about once a week. As for vegans, we do have a pizza that is gluten free, but they need to give us about a half hour notice," he said. If more change is wanted, it will need to come from the students, said Brown. Dining services is supposed to benefit the students and there will be a survey on food options that will be available in March through the UVLink. If previous participation in surveys is any indication, the school will continue its same path. Vegans and vegetarians, however, will continue hoping otherwise. |