Oral sex and democracy

When the Indiana Daily Student ran a story on oral sex, we took a little flak from the community. So it's no surprise that a similar article intended for the Noblesville High School student newspaper, The Mill Stream, stirred up a little bit of controversy. \nAfter two weeks of suspense, the superintendent finally blocked the article, arguing that students already learn about the dangers of sexual behaviors in middle school health class. And clearly, middle school kids take health class, especially sex education, incredibly seriously (please insert dripping sarcasm here).\nThe article was apparently well-researched, with the staff of the paper even going so far as to conduct surveys with their peers. Even the school principal called the article "objective and factual." \nOverall, minus one more point in the fight to teach students respect for the First Amendment. \nThis comes little more than a year after the results of a study were published demonstrating that more than a third of high schoolers believe that the First Amendment goes "too far" in the rights it guarantees, and that only half think that newspapers should be able to publish freely without government interference. The study attributes the students' constitutional apathy in part to the neglect of high school journalism programs, and the lack of emphasis on students' abilities to practice their constitutional rights.\nThe First Amendment is imperative in protecting our democracy. Public high schools have a duty to teach kids about media literacy, and shielding them from anything that might make someone uncomfortable is dangerous. These kids are on their way to becoming eligible voters, and if they don't have basic media literacy skills, they aren't able to make truly educated decisions about candidates and issues, among other things.\nReading a glorified newsletter, common to so many high schools, does not reinforce this skill. Students have to be allowed to feel \nuncomfortable, to question their beliefs and to begin to understand how the media works while still under the guidance of teachers and advisers. At least in the school setting, they can ask questions in a safe environment. If they look up oral sex on the Internet, for example, they get instead dubious information from whatever Web site happens to pop up interspersed with ads for porn sites. \nMeanwhile, for The Mill Stream, this controversy probably isn't over yet. The Supreme Court's decision is somewhat cloudy about how high schools can and cannot censor their publications. \nI understand that parents might be concerned about their children hearing about oral sex. To them, I say rest assured the kids have already heard all kinds of lurid details and misinformation from their friends; oral sex is nothing new to them. At least hearing the truth from peers might make them more likely to pay attention than listening to the dreaded health teacher who seems so tragically out of touch. And as an added benefit, the students at Noblesville High will get a much-needed lesson about the value of the First Amendment. \nThe way I see it, with safety and democracy, everybody wins.