SCHS Opinion
The editorial section
Journalism students are notoriously opinionated, and this semester’s crop is no
exception. Having spent countless hours debating current events in the journalism
industry, such as why defamation law doesn’t touch presidential candidates and whether
the burkini ban in France infringes on free speech, journalism students were asked to
write three opinion pieces for this issue. I challenged the students not only to identify a
problem but to suggest thoughtful, workable, even radical solutions. Their editorials
certainly got me thinking, and I hope they’ll have the same impact on you.
Sarah Heilbronner
Sex Ed: Finding the Information
by Josh Soto
Take a deep breath, guys. I understand this topic is taboo; I get it, but this needs
to be addressed. School: not all of us are straight, and the information you give us about
how to have safe sex between straight partners does
not help and is a waste of time. During middle school
and freshman year for health classes, they don’t dare
to break the ice to explain anything more in sex
education. It is 2016 now, and according to studies
from out.com, “Less than 50% of teens identify as
straight.” This means a big proportion of high school
students are identified as not straight. Even though
this might be uncomfortable, schools need to start
giving more information about sexual protection for
all types of couples. According
to The New York Times, “only 4% of schools mention
about non-straight sex education” and that “is not enough for 50% of teenagers that are
not straight.”
I understand that there are reasons why people don’t mention gay sex ed, but at
this point we need to start teaching about it. Sex ed is not just about a man and a
woman; there’s much more to it. Rutgers.edu states that only four states are
LGBT-inclusive in this topic, and that’s not enough these days. People need to
understand this, and schools need to start teaching this as soon as possible.