Volume 144, Issue #4
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ON ABORTION In 44 states, pregnant teenagers must have parental consent or agree to parental notification in order to get an abortion. They should have the right to decide for themselves. Teens are capable of logically making decisions and talking to an adult about reproductive health decisions; the APA have also found that restricting confidential reproductive health services could lead to an increase in unintended pregnancies, according to the American Psychological Association. Teens are not being correctly informed. Teens usually get information about sex from unreliable sources because many parents are embarrassed to talk to them about it. Most parents themselves have not been adequately taught about sex themselves. The federally funded sex education is abstinence-only. Teens who do not abstain from sex do not have much information about using condoms or obtaining birth control. Seventy-five percent of sexually active women and men will get a sexually transmitted disease and 74 percent to 95 percent of teen pregnancies are unintended, according to Planned Parenthood. Arming them with information about sex would help reduce their chances of being unprepared and pregnant. No one has a right to judge a teen seeking an abortion. Teens who go this route understand that life will change for them completely. Teens are not financially stable and usually are not mature enough to take care of a baby. Because the father seldom stick around the teen mother-to-be would make a decision not only for herself, but for the baby as well. Notifying or asking consent from parents could cause much harm. Fear of their parents finding might lead to teens' desperate attempts to abort themselves or have a non-medical professional do it. If safe, affordable and confidential abortions were available to teens, it might keep them out of harm’s way. People who oppose full sex education and abortion are not keeping in mind what is best for teens. It shouldn’t affect the quality -- and availability -- of the reproductive health resources offered to teens. e-mail: editorial@theguardsman.com
MOBILIZE.ORG NEEDS TO START MOBILIZING
Many young people today feel like they don’t have a voice. It’s nothing new, but what are we supposed to do? The world is a pretty miserable place and even when we try and make a change, the results are often disappointing -- especially when it comes to politics. Mobilize.org are trying to get the youth to think more positively and become more involved in the political process. Over 75 mobilizer teams span the nation. Groups of young folks work in their communities to increase civic engagement by staging events and attending annual conferences. That can’t be a bad thing, but have you seen them around anywhere? It seems like the crew at mobilize.org has their heart in the right place, but the reason that so many people are disillusioned with politics is that they never see any tangible, favorable change in their lives. The continuing war in Iraq, the lack of affordable health care and the ugly, soulless new buildings taking over our cities stand out as examples. Maybe we should make those changes that we want to see ourselves without depending on elected officials. Will politicians make those changes we want really happen? Let’s see – universal health care? Yeah, right. An end to the war in Iraq? Or how about just an end to the “war on drugs?” Don’t hold your breath. The problem arises when our choices are just limited options that the powers that be give us. Should we vote Democrat or Republican? Pro-choice or pro-life? No room for nuance in that debate. No room for true diversity or real representation for most of us. So why bother playing their game? I’m not saying that mobilize.org is useless. But there are other ways to change our world and make it a better place. Political lobbying is just thinking within the box. We shouldn’t be making the youth into mini-politicians. We should be encouraging them to create the world in their image through art, creativity, music and whatever drives their passion. Creativity has a thousand times more impact that political lobbying. e-mail: btaylor@theguardsman.com DAZED AND CONFUSED IN THE DIGITAL AGE Coming back to school after a nine-year hiatus has been a real chore and eye opener. I knew it was going to be hard and that technology had far surpassed my comprehension before I had even graduated the first time in 1995. I didn’t get a computer -- influenced by my sister and my parents --until about 1996. I never needed one to write papers or talk to my friends. Now all we do is sit in front of these bright and vacuous screens. Hours go by and I haven’t even started what I intended to work on. I forget there’s a purpose behind all the e-mail, Google and YouTube links, that work is to be done. Homework for Photoshop class, contacting the staff, reading e-mails and writing this editorial: I’m overwhelmed. It used to be embarrassing how little I knew about the computer, then, I took pride in it; now I have no idea how I’m supposed to catch up. Having said that, who and what and how do you people have a MySpace account, watch the latest YouTube download, check e-mail, go to work, go to school and do your homework? Also everyone is on their phone between and in classes, talking or texting. Who are you talking to and how do you have that much to say? I don’t know where I’m going with this, but I’m drowning just watching you all. Maybe I’m just too set in my ways that I don’t understand what it is that is so important can’t wait until you see each other after class? Maybe I have become what we all fear most, becoming old like our mothers.
Do you think illegal students should be allowed to continue a college education?
BY ELIZABETH SKOW With Halloween around the corner I've been thinking: Zombie. I know, it's not original -- everyone loves zombies. I saw a headline on the front page of The Chronicle last month and I'm not kidding, it read: DEATH BY ZOMBIE BITE TOP CHOICE AMONG WAYS TO DIE. I think it was a review of yet another zombie movie. I can't keep them straight. Zombie movies have sub-genres too, as I'm sure you all know. Italian zombie movies, movies about Nazi zombies, running zombies -- it can be mind-numbing. One night a couple of years ago my boyfriend and I had zombie movie festival in our living room. The lineup was the new "Dawn of the Dead," the zombie comedy "Shaun of the Dead," and to top it all off, the zombilicious -- "Night of the Living Dead." It was a night. We had popcorn and cocktails and whatnot. It was raining heavily and the noise on the roof made the movies scarier. When I woke the next morning the rain was gone but the world was wet. I crawled out of bed, got dressed and went down the steps and outside to the car with its long-broken triangle back window. I got in and started the engine, listening to my phone messages while it warmed up. Then a movement in the rearview mirros caught my attention. A dark shape sat up ponderously, swaying back and forth. Downright zombie-like, in fact. My heart was in my throat as a low voice asked, "Where am I?" "You're in my car on McKinon Ave. in San Francisco," I replied shakily. "You must have crawled into my car when it was raining last night. I have to go to work. Could you get out please?" He fumbled at the door handle, still a little drunk, got it open on his third try or so. And off he shuffled into the soggy new day.
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