Friday, February 27, 2009
To close this year’s sexual awareness week, the Commission on the Status for Women will sponsor a pub crawl to collect signatures for “Prevention First,” a petition to demand Kansas to tighten its regulations for sexual education.
The petition is also aimed at forcing legislators to grant access to reproductive health care.
Corey Flanders, left, Dr. Alesha Doan, Holly Weatherford, Vanessa Sanburn, and Samantha Snyder discussed issues regarding sex education Monday, February 24. The panel, sponsored by the Commission on the Status of Women, discussed the accessibility of birth control and the kind of sex education in public schools. The event was a part of CSW's sexual awareness week.
Elise Higgins, Topeka junior and president of CSW, said awareness of Kansas procedures and sexual health in general was the goal of the activism week.
“If we can get the student body engaged in getting the best education they can, we’ll know we can do it nationally,” Higgins said.
The week also included a panel of experts and a booth on Wescoe beach.
During the past 30 years, women and men have had more options concerning sexual awareness, including more methods of birth control and more access to information about prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Higgins said although the KU student body may have been up to speed on the dangers of unprotected sex, they should be more aware of the politics involved with sex education.
Kansas law requires public schools to offer comprehensive sex education, also referred to as abstinence-plus education, but fails to define what that type of education entails. The state leaves the content of sex education up to the school districts, which Alesha Doan, assistant professor of political science, said caused an inconsistency in what Kansas children learned.
Since Congress authorized funding for abstinence-only education programs in 1996, Kansas has received more than $300,000 per year for community groups and educators, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
“It would be nice if everyone would be abstinent until they are married, but that’s just not the case,” Higgins said.
Corey Flanders, Salina junior, said she thought that with abstinence-only or abstinence-plus education a lot of the effectiveness depended on young adults’ relationships with their parents.
“The huge fear when you’re younger is getting caught by your parents,” Flanders said, “So sexually active teens will ask their peers, and if their peers get the same education that they do, well where do you go from there?”
Doan agreed and said that the ideal situation would be parents who took interest an in talking to their children about sex, but that unfortunately talking about sexuality was traditionally uncomfortable in our culture.
“In the United States, sex is an ideological or morality issue,” Vanessa Sanburn, Wichita graduate student, said. “It should be a public health issue.”
Holly Weatherford, Kansas lobbyist for Planned Parenthood, said this year’s battle in Topeka regarding Kansas sex education was just heating up, and that while studies had shown most adults favored comprehensive sex education, there was still an imbalance in the state capitol.
Doan said abstinence-only supporters were very politically active. “We tend to hear the loudest voices, and the loudest voices are not necessarily the voice of the people,” she said.
Higgins said she hoped the pub crawl would be a good chance to gain signatures and let more students know about sex education and access in Kansas.
— —Edited by Liz Schubauer
Letter: Abstinence-only classes haven’t slowed Plan B
Editorial: Abstinence failing as sex education tool
A study commissioned by Congress proved the abstinence approach to sexual education ...
Sexy Week encourages more than sex education
All this week Delta Force will help students understand their bodies and ...
Letter to the Editor: Sex education reform ...
Abstinence-only education leaves out vital information.
Delta Force focuses on sexual health, sustainability
The group will be putting all their effort into informing students about ...
Cohen: Abstinence-only education insane
New bill is a waste of money and won't improve health of ...
Free: Good sex education teaches more than ...
Quality sex education needs to be comprehensive.
Mistreatment of women exacerbates AIDS epidemic
Sexual health improves at KU
The report scored 139 universities on a variety of programs and recourses ...
Take Back the Night to promote awareness ...
Take Back the Night is a national event to educate the public ...
No sex is good sex
It’s hard to ignore sex as a college student, and often virginity ...
Birth control prices could decrease
A new law opens up the possibility for lower prices on birth ...
Cosby: Congress overreacting by defunding Planned Parenthood
Defunding Planned Parenthood would jeopardize vital services needed for the reproductive and ...
Johnson: Abstinence not a lost cause
Despite the pressures that advertisements, the Internet, music and television place on ...
Plan B use increases on campus
Last year, 763 Plan B pills were bought through the Watkins pharmacy.
Center promotes sex and alcohol safety
Event held to educate students on how to increase personal safety while ...
Play focuses on femininity
The Vagina Monologues will be presented in Hashinger Theater this weekend.
Who's not having it
Many students choose to remain abstinent for differing reasons.
Care for rape victims inadequate, says DA
Short-staffed Lawrence Memorial Hospital is criticized by Branson for turning away victims ...
Dove model to speak on women’s issues
Stacy Nadeau, from Dove’s Real Beauty campaign, will address body image, stereotypes, ...
Letter to the editor: the scary truth
Anti-abortion displays showed the gruesome realities of abortion.
University scores low in Trojan rankings
Study says KU is 56th in the nation in sexual health.
Hot myths debunked
We strip common sex myths bare.
Using underwear to catch attention
For Sexual Violence Awareness Month the University is attempting to make students ...
Free HIV testing promotes AIDS awareness
Campus organizations held the event Tuesday for World AIDS Day.
Police to host safety seminar on campus
Lawrence and campus law enforcement will give students tips on how to ...
Proposed cuts anger students
Student senate wants to move funding away from community health services.
Court nominee's views at odds with country
City adopts registry service for same-sex couples
The city commission became the first in Kansas to create a registry ...
Activist group promotes Sexy Week
Delta Force will distribute condoms and information on safe sex.
Letter to the Editor: Sex is sacred
So what does abstinence in a committed relationship look like? For my ...
Students decide sex can wait
Religion and finding that special someone are some of the reasons young ...
Group works for more than just peanuts
The federal minimum wage is $5.85 an hour, and ‘Current-See’ is looking ...
Choosing Abstinence
Despite pressure from the outside world, students uphold their decision to remain ...
Bledowski: Europeans are more comfortable with their ...
European countries have different more positive outlooks on sex.
Disability fair showcases resources available on campus
Students can visit fair for information from AbleHawks, Student Health Services and ...
From left: Kimberlee Hinkle, Libby Johnson and Hannah ...
1 comment
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
Comments
Group to take petition on pub crawl
You go girl.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID