Saying they are suffering from a lack of accurate sexual knowledge and increasing amounts of sexual infections, Boston Public School students asked city leaders to create a better sex education program.
“Sexual education is important because sex is a part of our lives,” said Kimpsha Grant, a 17-year-old student who spoke during yesterday’s City Council hearing. “Young people learn about sex like a folk tale. Information is passed down from friends and no one knows what is right and wrong.”
Currently, students enrolled in the wellness centers at nine public high schools have access to condoms, but there is no condom access within the remaining four high schools without wellness centers.
In her opening remarks, Councilor Ayanna Press said not taking action would be “cowardly.”
“When a public school distributes condoms, it tells students they should ignore the teachings of their religion,” said C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts.
Tuesday’s City Council hearing on sex education and condom accessibility in public schools was cause for some passionate debate. Here are some of the voices, opinions and facts that were not able to make it into Wednesday’s edition of the Metro:
“Safe sex is an outdated and medically inaccurate notion … Condoms are not the best protection we can give” students. –Maggie McLean, a Harvard University student and leader at Pure In Heart
“There’s a lack of sex education. It’s important to not get taught just the basics.” –Samantha Brea, a senior at the Snowden International School at Copley
“I’m vehemently against the passing of condoms in the Boston Public Schools. It usurps the authority of the parents and the Bible states we should honor thy father and mother.
“You are essentially saying to the students, ‘Don’t listen to your parents … take a condom, be promiscuous and then when you get pregnant have an abortion.’” –A community member during public comment
“A solution based on wishing our young people would wait to have sex and doing nothing else is no solution at all.” –Councilor Ayanna Pressley
