While browsing CNN.com, I came across a very interesting video news clip entitled "expelled for kissing". The story, it turns out, is not hyped up a bit by that catchy headline. An 11th grader, Dominique Goyner, and his girlfriend were expelled from their Columbia, SC high school after a video tape caught them kissing on the school bus. Goyner, a respectable student and ROTC member, is currently being homeschooled and hopes that this event will not deter his chances of getting into military academy.
Now, when I hear the phrase "expelled for kissing", I'm picturing something scandalous at least--a full on makeout session, inappropriate groping, etc. However, Goyner's mother insists that she has seen the tape and it only contains "two minutes of kissing". If this is indeed true, then I can't help but feel that this is either a ridiculously conservative high school or a blatant misuse of authority or some combination of that duo. I realize that the school bus is an improper place for any type of sexual behavior and that other students must have been subject to witnessing such behavior, but worse stuff can be seen on the CW network at 8:00. I mean, two minutes of kissing hardly makes you some kind of pervert. Goyner seems to be a pretty respectable kid, so I don't understand why he is being treated like a deviant. Follow-up articles that I read, such as this one, confirm that a school board meeting in October was what decided Goyner's fate, expelling him for the rest of the school year.
Let me get nostalgic for a minute and recall a moment out of my private Catholic high school education. During spirit week, one of my fellow seniors took a fake head and placed it on a stick. When the seniors placed first in one of the spirit games, he brandished the stick and led our entire class in a rousing chant of "We Got ****", referring to the object that was stuck on the stick. Granted, our whole class was pulled out of the auditorium by our vice principle and lectured, but we returned to spirit games 10 minutes later unscathed and with a renewed sense of rebellion.
So, I can't help but question, why are two teens being so severely punished for a short act of affection when many others get away with so much more? Adolescents are always going to be breaking the rules and as long as its not doing any damage to themselves or others, why not just say "kids will be kids" and move past? And what if homeschooling wasn't an option for these teenagers--I'm a little confused as to how a school board could deem deprivation of an education as a suitable punishment.
I'll definitely be staying tuned as this one develops..
Fox asks us if we're smarter than a fifth grader. Fox asks us who should be the next American Idol. And now the network is clearly asking for it, airing a new "gameshow" in which contestants are hooked up to a lie detector test and asked embarassing questions in front of friends and family. Prize money is attached to each honest answer and "loss" in every sense of the word for a lie.
I know I can't be the only one outraged by the airing of this show. I mean, is this the kind of thing viewers have to expect in the wake of the writers strike? Fox has gotten dirty in the past, luring us in with the seductive Temptation Island, in which couples tested their relationship by being brought to paradise, separated, and then presented with videos of their significant other romping around with one of various attractive suitors who'd been brought in to play homewrecker. I watched it then, and I have to admit it was compelling in a voyeuristic kind of way, as much reality-type television is these days, but I'm not sure I can stomach this show, even for the pure sake of curiosity.
I can't help but wonder, don't the contestants of this show realize that they are entering into a lose-lose situation? Let's put ourselves in their place for a second. You are a contestant on the show and are asked an extremely mortifying question whose answer could have life-altering consequences. You know, like the people in the previews who are asked if they'd give a kidney to a dying loved one. Well, obviously, if your answer to a question is hurtful, you are completely trapped. You could tell the truth and win money at the expense of your relationship with the friends and family in the audience or tuning in, or you could lie and be caught in that lie, losing the game and your winnings, also at the expense of your nearest and dearest. Hmm, sounds fun.
I'm going to attempt to do my part and not let my curiosity get the best out of me in this case because I don't think this show deserves any type of acknowledgement for its viewership and ratings. It is not only insulting to its own contestants, but to all of America in its suggestion that we will flock to the humiliation of others for the sake of entertainment.
Fox, I know you sometimes like to live on the edge of what is morally comprehensible, but I don't think you're this desperate. Save some dignity and pull this show.
Here's the preview clip for anyone who hasn't seen the commercials:
While at my roommate's home in Connecticut this weekend, her mom told us that classic story of "how I met your father" and it broached what I thought was a very interesting topic. Her mother, it turns out, had met her father at college and married him soon after, inciting a discussion about the probability that we would meet our future husbands within the next couple of years. Sure, this topic was undeniably girlish and possibly influenced by the fact that half of us had recently seen the Katherine Heigl comedy "27 Dresses", but it also got the wheels turning in my head for this post. I began to wonder, how many of my peers truly expect to meet The One any day now? I know that most of us college kids are now at a point where we are more independent than we've ever been in our lives and adulthood is fast approaching if it hasn't already been reached, but are we already at that point where marriage is a consideration for the near future? With prom and my senior trip still fresh in my memory, I am doubtful that within a couple years I could be ready for the ultimate commitment to another person.
I decided to do a little research based on this topic and here is what I found: according to the US Census Bureau, the average age at first marriage for a man and a woman is 27 and 25 years-old. I know this is only an average and not true for everyone, but that doesn't make five years from now seem any further away. Another somewhat scary revelation--all three members of Hanson, the teen crooners of "Mmmbop" that seemed to grow up alongside our generation, have all tied the knot. The youngest, Zac, is 21 and has already been married for a year. The oldest, Isaac, is a mere 26. I know that using the Hanson brothers as a comparison might seem to be a bit of a stretch, but for those of us who grew up with their sweetly innocent pop hits, it is a surprising dose of reality. For those who are nostalgic, here is a link to People's short video documentary of the band all grown up.
I know that many of us will spend half our time at college figuring out what we want to do with the rest of our lives, but will we also be figuring out who it is we want to spend those lives with? I suppose the statistics don't have to mean anything if you don't want them to, but as tomorrow marks the beginning of another week, I think it's worth being aware of the fact that any one of these days could be the start of the story we tell around the dinner table in 20 years. Seize the day, seize youth, because every day we are getting a little older than we realize.
Today on Boston.com, there is a story by AP writer, Emily Fredrix, about a 28-year-old woman whose former promiscuity and teen pregnancy in her younger years has inspired her to create and host a podcast that delivers hip and entertaining sex advice and education for teenagers. Now, I don't want my opinion on this to be misconstrued, so let me start off with something of a disclaimer:
I think this woman, Nikol Hasler, is very benevolent in her intentions to educate teenagers about sensitive topics that for whatever reason they are lacking in knowledge of. Her idea is innovative and thoughtful.
However, and here comes the reason for the above preface, I can't help but question why such a podcast has become as popular with teens and parents as the article declares. I know that there are some issues concerning sex that make teens squirm at the mere thought of mentioning to their parents. Is there such a disconnect, though, and such a love and trust in the internet that teens need to watch a podcast to get their questions answered? I understand that Hasler's videos are probably light and easily accessible, but it is unsettling to me that there are so many young adults out there who have no one else to turn to but a face on their computer screen. Maybe my own communication with my parents is more open than that of most, but I can't help but find this a little unusual. I'm sure that Hasler isn't giving any advice that could be harmful to the teens that are tuning in, but if she has a rapt young audience and the opportunity to say whatever she wants there is always a risk of misinterpretation or manipulation. I know that if I were a parent, I would much rather risk a possibly uncomfortable conversation with my child than leave them to be influenced by whatever they are told on the internet.
Are health and sexual education classes so poor and parent-child communication so strained that podcasts like this are not only necessary, but extremely popular? Kudos to Hasler for recognizing an untapped audience that she can aid, but shame on our technological society for making a good old fashioned talk with mom and dad seem outdated and tired.
Early last semester, I was assigned to write a report on the frontrunners for the 2008 election and how they were campaigning to young voters. I was dismayed when a professor I interviewed at American University informed me that she had learned something disturbing while researching for one of her classes. She had been told by one of the top candidates' campaign representatives that they put little effort and funds into encouraging the youth vote because they simply did not show up at the polls. I was upset to hear this, mainly because I didn't think that my age group was that ignorant. I had this immediate urgency to go into defense mode, thinking to myself, "We do care. We want change. We will show up."
Then it happened. A couple days ago, my friends and I entered into a spontaneous conversation about the candidates and one of my friends piped up with, "I don't think I know any of the Republicans that are running." I found that very hard to believe, considering that we attend college in a state whose last governor is one such contender. Another friend was then directed to a local news website that had a poll which was supposed to tell you, based on a series of questions about your personal views, who it is she should vote for. Well, let's just say she had never even heard of the man that the site regurgitated for her. She had hoped it would spit out Barack Obama.
This whole ordeal led us into a discussion about what the candidates' statistics include--who each is, what is important about their background, what they stand for. Considering the amount of information available on the web, it took the girls longer than it should have to find a site that spelled out all that information in the neat and compact format they were looking for...and the site they chose was Wikipedia. I'm not sure why us college kids hold Wikipedia to the same standards as Britannica, but, nevertheless, we seem to. For this reason, I decided to post a link to a news website that has exactly what my friends and I'm sure many other college students want that is far more reliable than our beloved Wikipedia.
So, if there's anyone out there who recognizes such a plight, go here. It's a local news station for our area, but it's a great collection of information!
While browsing CNN.com, I came across a very interesting video news clip entitled "expelled for kissing". The story, it turns out, is not hyped up a bit by that catchy headline. An 11th grader, Dominique Goyner, and his girlfriend were expelled from their Columbia, SC high school after a video tape caught them kissing on the school bus. Goyner, a respectable student and ROTC member, is currently being homeschooled and hopes that this event will not deter his chances of getting into military academy.
