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School backs off condom giveaway at the prom
http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/24/11862506-school-backs-off-condom-giveaway-at-the-prom?lite
Last Friday, msnbc.com reported that a New York City school, Bedford-Stuyvesant Preparatory High School, had agreed to make condoms available to students at the school’s June 7 prom.
Now, apparently in reaction to some opposition, principal Darryl Rascoe has changed those plans.
The school will still hold an assembly on June 5, sponsored by condom maker NV Healthcare. Plans for an essay contest on the value of safe sex and healthy relationships are also unchanged, and the company will provide 500 condoms to the school.
But those condoms will not be distributed at prom, according to a company spokesperson. Instead, they will enter the school’s normal distribution pattern to be made available to students before prom.
Calls to Rascoe’s office for comment on the reasons for the change of plans were directed New York City’s school headquarters. Department of Education spokesperson Margie Feinberg said she didn’t know why Rascoe had altered the program. But she affirmed that he had the authority to allow the condom distribution.
“We said it was fine as long as the condoms are in a separate room, and he has written parental consent,” she said. “We do provide condoms according to our HIV/Aids curriculum in high school, so if he wants to do it at prom, that’s fine
Original story:
Prom season is packed with choices for high school students -- which dress, which tuxedo, which music, which flowers? This year, students in at least one high school will have one more choice to make: whether or not to pick up a condom or two on their way out the door.
Bedford-Stuyvesant Preparatory High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. will make 500 condoms available at the school’s June 7 prom.
“As they leave the prom, they are welcome to it,” school principal Darryl Rascoe said in an interview. “We are not forcing it on anybody, but we want them to have that option.”
Worries about underage drinking or risky sex on prom night have prompted scores of prevention programs at schools around the country, from scheduling the event on weeknights to chaperoned after-parties.
But handing out free condoms as part of the festivities is a wrong move, says Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, an advocacy group that resists comprehensive sex education in schools. “We are concerned that the distribution of condoms on school campuses further normalizes teen sex,” she told msnbc.com via email.
Principal Rascoe says he’s unaware of any opposition to the prom condom plan.
Bedford-Stuyvesant Prep, a small, “transfer” school of about 130 students which teens attend after having had academic, disciplinary, or other difficulties elsewhere, conducts safe sex forums and already distributes condoms through sex education initiatives. Other New York City high school allow students to request free condoms as part of HIV/AIDS prevention programs. The Brooklyn school also houses one of New York City Schools’ “Lyfe” (Living for the Young Family through Education) centers, a day-care facility for the young children of current students.
So when NV Healthcare, which manufactures NuVo branded condoms, offered to supply some for prom, Rascoe viewed it as just an extension of what the school already does. The Brooklyn school’s parent coordinator notified parents about the safe-sex prom program “and that, during prom, things happen,” Rascoe said.
That’s why senior Shaquana Brown agrees with the move. “It’s a great idea,” she said in an interview. “You know, there are after parties and stuff” where students might find themselves in a sexual situation they didn’t anticipate. She also thinks the fact that there’ll be context around the condom availability will help students make smart choices.
The prom condom distribution plan will be accompanied by a safe sex school assembly sponsored by the condom maker a few days before the prom. An essay contest on the topic of safe sex will be judged by the school’s English department.
NuVo has made a similar prom condom offer to other schools, although Bedford-Stuyvesant Prep is the only taker so far. The one-year-old company hopes the marketing stunt gets "the positive aspects of condom use out there," vice-president Ben Isaacs explained.
In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that “schools should be considered appropriate sites for the availability of condoms, because they contain large adolescent populations and may potentially provide a comprehensive array of related educational and health care resources.”
For the Brooklyn school's principal, the prom condom plan is about the future of teenagers. Though students may have had trouble at other settings, Rascoe said, the “first thing that should roll off your tongue when you say Bed-Stuy Prep is college. We are trying to prepare you for college and for life.”
Getting pregnant, he said “is self-sabotage. It makes it more difficult to move forward and life becomes a struggle.”
Last Friday, msnbc.com reported that a New York City school, Bedford-Stuyvesant Preparatory High School, had agreed to make condoms available to students at the school’s June 7 prom.
Now, apparently in reaction to some opposition, principal Darryl Rascoe has changed those plans.
The school will still hold an assembly on June 5, sponsored by condom maker NV Healthcare. Plans for an essay contest on the value of safe sex and healthy relationships are also unchanged, and the company will provide 500 condoms to the school.
But those condoms will not be distributed at prom, according to a company spokesperson. Instead, they will enter the school’s normal distribution pattern to be made available to students before prom.
Calls to Rascoe’s office for comment on the reasons for the change of plans were directed New York City’s school headquarters. Department of Education spokesperson Margie Feinberg said she didn’t know why Rascoe had altered the program. But she affirmed that he had the authority to allow the condom distribution.
“We said it was fine as long as the condoms are in a separate room, and he has written parental consent,” she said. “We do provide condoms according to our HIV/Aids curriculum in high school, so if he wants to do it at prom, that’s fine
Original story:
Prom season is packed with choices for high school students -- which dress, which tuxedo, which music, which flowers? This year, students in at least one high school will have one more choice to make: whether or not to pick up a condom or two on their way out the door.
Bedford-Stuyvesant Preparatory High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. will make 500 condoms available at the school’s June 7 prom.
“As they leave the prom, they are welcome to it,” school principal Darryl Rascoe said in an interview. “We are not forcing it on anybody, but we want them to have that option.”
Worries about underage drinking or risky sex on prom night have prompted scores of prevention programs at schools around the country, from scheduling the event on weeknights to chaperoned after-parties.
But handing out free condoms as part of the festivities is a wrong move, says Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, an advocacy group that resists comprehensive sex education in schools. “We are concerned that the distribution of condoms on school campuses further normalizes teen sex,” she told msnbc.com via email.
Principal Rascoe says he’s unaware of any opposition to the prom condom plan.
Bedford-Stuyvesant Prep, a small, “transfer” school of about 130 students which teens attend after having had academic, disciplinary, or other difficulties elsewhere, conducts safe sex forums and already distributes condoms through sex education initiatives. Other New York City high school allow students to request free condoms as part of HIV/AIDS prevention programs. The Brooklyn school also houses one of New York City Schools’ “Lyfe” (Living for the Young Family through Education) centers, a day-care facility for the young children of current students.
So when NV Healthcare, which manufactures NuVo branded condoms, offered to supply some for prom, Rascoe viewed it as just an extension of what the school already does. The Brooklyn school’s parent coordinator notified parents about the safe-sex prom program “and that, during prom, things happen,” Rascoe said.
That’s why senior Shaquana Brown agrees with the move. “It’s a great idea,” she said in an interview. “You know, there are after parties and stuff” where students might find themselves in a sexual situation they didn’t anticipate. She also thinks the fact that there’ll be context around the condom availability will help students make smart choices.
The prom condom distribution plan will be accompanied by a safe sex school assembly sponsored by the condom maker a few days before the prom. An essay contest on the topic of safe sex will be judged by the school’s English department.
NuVo has made a similar prom condom offer to other schools, although Bedford-Stuyvesant Prep is the only taker so far. The one-year-old company hopes the marketing stunt gets "the positive aspects of condom use out there," vice-president Ben Isaacs explained.
In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that “schools should be considered appropriate sites for the availability of condoms, because they contain large adolescent populations and may potentially provide a comprehensive array of related educational and health care resources.”
For the Brooklyn school's principal, the prom condom plan is about the future of teenagers. Though students may have had trouble at other settings, Rascoe said, the “first thing that should roll off your tongue when you say Bed-Stuy Prep is college. We are trying to prepare you for college and for life.”
Getting pregnant, he said “is self-sabotage. It makes it more difficult to move forward and life becomes a struggle.”
That would do it.
When you're done, I'll send you my rose colored glasses.
When you're done, I'll send you my rose colored glasses.
Well I gotta say, if the schools were doing this when mine were in school, I would have been up personal and in their faces mad.
But what I have learned raising my kids is that where there is a will there is a way. If they want to do it no one is stopping them. But the schools just handing them out like candy seems to almost promote it imo.
Kids tell parents what they want to hear. That simple. And we all want to hear that they are being responsible and not putting themselves at risk. So that is what they tell us. I find, if you listen intently, when they talk about their friends and what their friends are into, usually yours is right in the thick of it as well.
Honestly, even tho I dont approve of the school handing out condoms as imo it is not part of their job description, Im equally as glad they are available if needed.
I always told mine, if you play, you pay. No help from mom and your not raising it here. If you make adult decisions you have adult responsibility. They were too scared to risk it. Thats what they tell me now that all are grown. Me when I was growing up was too afraid my DAD would kill me, so never took the chance....FEAR did it for me! Thats not very popular these days tho.
But what I have learned raising my kids is that where there is a will there is a way. If they want to do it no one is stopping them. But the schools just handing them out like candy seems to almost promote it imo.
Kids tell parents what they want to hear. That simple. And we all want to hear that they are being responsible and not putting themselves at risk. So that is what they tell us. I find, if you listen intently, when they talk about their friends and what their friends are into, usually yours is right in the thick of it as well.
Honestly, even tho I dont approve of the school handing out condoms as imo it is not part of their job description, Im equally as glad they are available if needed.
I always told mine, if you play, you pay. No help from mom and your not raising it here. If you make adult decisions you have adult responsibility. They were too scared to risk it. Thats what they tell me now that all are grown. Me when I was growing up was too afraid my DAD would kill me, so never took the chance....FEAR did it for me! Thats not very popular these days tho.
I quess because I've been stuck working in New Orleans (just outside of the 9th Ward) since the middle of April. Pretty much like a Work Release Program. I leave my motel to go to work in the morning, work about 12 hours then confined to my motel room until the next morning. I guess the brightside is, I haven't heard any Gunshots so far this week.
Consequences are so important. And I think a big part of that is follow through on what you tell your children the consequences are. I think you have to start this young, as soon as they can understand. It teaches them from the get go that you mean what you say.
Agree with specialmom about the consequences. I never even had a curfew when I was in high school. The deal was - I could stay out all night if I really wanted to, but by George, my backside was going to school the next day, no matter what. There was no staying home to sleep or calling in sick......plus I got extra chores the next day after school, so I wasn't allowed to go sleep until bed time.......... I tried it once!! That's all it took. Talk about draggin' butt!! After that, I didn't even think about it, even on weekends, because the next day was chock full of chores to prevent extra sleep!! Enough to keep me on the straight and narrow!!
I think one of the big problems we have today is that, all too often, there are no adverse consequences to bad or improper behavior.
How does that go? For every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction........
I think one of the big problems we have today is that, all too often, there are no adverse consequences to bad or improper behavior.
How does that go? For every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction........
I agree with you adgal. I have mixed feelings on this.
This isn't a new or 'current' problem. We were all faced with this way back in the day.
I'm a huge believer in consequences. I didn't sleep around and put off sex due to the consequences. Std's, pregnancy and being known as a tramp were all good reasons for me to hold out. I think that things such as this should be presented to kids not as 'realities' but as consequences. A different spin.
What if at the begining of the school year, parents could sign something saying that condoms can be given. Then, the kids whose parents signed it can get the condoms and the ones who didn't, can't. So then you have TWO people in the mix with the potential to show up with a condom. Chances are that either the guy or the girl's parents signed for condoms. Then it is up to these kids to use them.
Seems fair to me. Of course, strapped schools will have to work regular condom giveaways into their budget. Now, THAT would be a new problem for schools.
This isn't a new or 'current' problem. We were all faced with this way back in the day.
I'm a huge believer in consequences. I didn't sleep around and put off sex due to the consequences. Std's, pregnancy and being known as a tramp were all good reasons for me to hold out. I think that things such as this should be presented to kids not as 'realities' but as consequences. A different spin.
What if at the begining of the school year, parents could sign something saying that condoms can be given. Then, the kids whose parents signed it can get the condoms and the ones who didn't, can't. So then you have TWO people in the mix with the potential to show up with a condom. Chances are that either the guy or the girl's parents signed for condoms. Then it is up to these kids to use them.
Seems fair to me. Of course, strapped schools will have to work regular condom giveaways into their budget. Now, THAT would be a new problem for schools.
My daughter learned about STDs in high school that I didn't know existed. Sexual reproduction could easily be part of the science curriculum, because it is physical science.
In an ideal world parents would teach their children, kids would respect their parents and everyone would have a warm loving family.
Our world is not ideal.
I too believe the state, and government should mind their own business and parent's are too self absorbed to be good parents.
But as Mrs. P points out, an unwanted pregnancy can become a welfare Mom. That does affect the state.
Off topic my friend, why so angry ? Everyone's upset about current times.
It's easy to be angry but it's not healthy for us.
In an ideal world parents would teach their children, kids would respect their parents and everyone would have a warm loving family.
Our world is not ideal.
I too believe the state, and government should mind their own business and parent's are too self absorbed to be good parents.
But as Mrs. P points out, an unwanted pregnancy can become a welfare Mom. That does affect the state.
Off topic my friend, why so angry ? Everyone's upset about current times.
It's easy to be angry but it's not healthy for us.
I get what you're saying but don't you think the more kids are educated and well informed the issue of teen pregnancy and young people getting STD's will be minimized? I don't want to keep supporting someone who gets pregnant at a young age b/c he/she wasn't taught safe sex and end up on welfare...If the parents don't care enough then yes I believe school is the next best source.....I don't care if it's parents or teachers educating the young, as long as they have the knowledge and resources....
"If their parents won't the school has an pobligation to...IMO ."
I disagree. Their obligation is academics not sticking their noses in the Rights of Parenting. Just because some people’s parenting skills do not meet up to their “standards’ it does not give them the right or obligation to step in. I find it scary when the State thinks it has the Right to overrule Parents. Do your Job, Teach School, and Mind your own Business.
I disagree. Their obligation is academics not sticking their noses in the Rights of Parenting. Just because some people’s parenting skills do not meet up to their “standards’ it does not give them the right or obligation to step in. I find it scary when the State thinks it has the Right to overrule Parents. Do your Job, Teach School, and Mind your own Business.
I suspect you are probably right. It's hard for me to reconcile this tiny little boy with the hormone charged teenager he will become some day. I guess all we can do is parent to the best of our ability and then hope? lol.
I do still support sex education...absolutely. And I support teens having easy access to birth control - even without parental consent. I'd rather they be safe then me feeling offended I wasn't involved in the decision. Still...it's not easy is it.
I do still support sex education...absolutely. And I support teens having easy access to birth control - even without parental consent. I'd rather they be safe then me feeling offended I wasn't involved in the decision. Still...it's not easy is it.
Of course, we all want them to be safe and we'd like to think we taught them all the good things they should know, like respecting their bodies and the emotional part of sex...... the sad part is, most/many parents don't teach that anymore. And of course, when sex education is taught in school, no one can tell the kids about the emotional aspects.
I was taught that love and sex should go hand in hand -- of course, I'm old fashioned - I've been married for 45 yrs, what would you expect? lol....but I still remember how it was when I was a teenager and I'm realistic enough to know that the kids will say "sure, mom, I understand" - it's "lip service" so they can get out of the house to go do their thing.
Could it be that you have a harder time, because you have a young son that you don't want to see going down that path, whereas my kids are grown, so I've "been there, done that"? My kids now have teenagers, or nearly so, and are beginning to realize what I went through when they were teenagers.
I do agree that the whole concept seems like advertising (which it, basically, is), but still - better they have the protection, than not.
I was taught that love and sex should go hand in hand -- of course, I'm old fashioned - I've been married for 45 yrs, what would you expect? lol....but I still remember how it was when I was a teenager and I'm realistic enough to know that the kids will say "sure, mom, I understand" - it's "lip service" so they can get out of the house to go do their thing.
Could it be that you have a harder time, because you have a young son that you don't want to see going down that path, whereas my kids are grown, so I've "been there, done that"? My kids now have teenagers, or nearly so, and are beginning to realize what I went through when they were teenagers.
I do agree that the whole concept seems like advertising (which it, basically, is), but still - better they have the protection, than not.
Some parents don't want to accept the fact that their son/daughter is having sex. They ignore it and don't talk to their kids about it then they wonder how in the world their daughter got pregnant or their son got someone pregnant or even worse how their son/daughter contracted an STD.....I remember sex ed in school and it was't very thorough. I think it should be thorough and the children should be taught abstinance as well as how to practice safe sex if they choose to engage in sexual intercourse. If their parents won't the school has an pobligation to...IMO
What ever happened to parenting? Maybe we should just turn our kids over to the Goverment/Schools and let them raise them.
I agree with that statement. I think this is just tough for me. Liberal me is all for it. I mean, your right, they are going to do it if they choose, and I want my child to be safe and informed. No question. It's just tough to get past that feeling that this feels a bit like advertising that as long as it's safe, having sex young is ok. Know what I mean? And I guess part of what I want is to see kids respecting their bodies and understanding the emotional component of having sex. This whole concept of "hook ups" bothers me. So conservative me is having issues here. But absolutely, ultimately I want them to be safe.
I understand your thoughts about promotion, but the kids are going to do it, so why not let them know there's protection? An assembly might not be the optimal way to go......
I'm with you on that one.......
I have such mixed feelings on this. I am completely and totally pro giving kids access to condoms. Absolutely 100%. I'm not certain how I feel about the manufacturer sponsoring an assembly and what almost feels like promoting sex? Hmm. I need to think about this one I guess. Just not sure what I think.
Condoms are not just about birthcontrol. They can prevent STDs.
I'm sure parents gave him crap that's why he changed his mind. I'm all for it. It's prom, kids are planning on having sec that night. If you know they are, why not give them protection?...I'm all for sex education and promoting safe sex in our high schools.....
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