It has often been said that the youth of today are tomorrow's leaders and what happens today seems to foreshadow what will happen in the future, which may be why many youth across the nation are banding together February 14th to recognize the Day of Purity--a day where those who are against sex before marriage wear white t-shirts symbolic to the cause.
This upcoming Day of Purity will be the fifth organized event and is expected to have more people involved. Many of whom will be Christian, who have grown up with these values taught in church and at home. However, it has extended far beyond to those who may not have been taught to be 'sexually pure' but feel the need to be anyways! But, just as there are people who firmly believe in this there are people who do not. So this raises the question that many high school administrations across the country have asked themselves: will there be a conflict?
There is a quote from Winston Churchill that says "You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something sometime in your life." This, many feel, justifies their persistence to recognize the Day of Purity. They argue that yes, there will be people who do not believe in their cause and will make fun of them for it, but that only reaffirms the fact that they have a strong belief in their cause--that standing up for it is right! And if the administration feels that it will be the other way around--that those recognizing the day will make fun of those who do not--all they can do is emphasize that they will not, and follow through. There is no alternative or another way to prove it...
Another argument in favor of the Day of Purity involves the Day of Silence, which if you do not know is a 'holiday' where gays and lesbians do not speak to represent the silent war they are waging on 'homophobia' and discrimination. Day of Purity supporters believe that if the school administrations will allow one they must allow the other, since they both have to do with morality issues and the ridicule both groups get for what they believe in and stand up for.
So I leave it up to you to decide whether or not high school administrations should allow this event. Is it right to have one and not the other--Day of Silence but not the Day of Purity, or Day of Purity without the Day of Silence? You decide.
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I don't think schools should ban the day of purity. There's no reason to do so that I can see. However, if, and I don't know, this day of purity has sparked serious conflicts in the past (I don't see why it would, but whatever) then I don't think it unreasonable for school administrators to ask you to keep it out of the school, but it doesn't really seem like something that would spark much conflict.
And, there's no need for subtle 'hints'. It's a...distasteful way of saying things.
"-bah!! Pardon the "bah!" I feel several "bahs!", but out of courtesy I only say one."
H.P. Lovecraft
Hints in my post? Please explain...
=)
-Leah
TornadoChaser
Think nothing of it,
"-bah!! Pardon the "bah!" I feel several "bahs!", but out of courtesy I only say one."
H.P. Lovecraft
My take on the issue would be a yes to the Day of Purity and a no on the Day of Silence.
Hear me out- the Day of Purity is a nondisruptive exercise of your right to freedom of speech. If there is an issue of people who disagree with it voicing their opinions, they are totally within their limits. The only thing that could cause conflict is if the situation turns violent or even becomes slightly threatening.
The Day of Silence in high school could be banned for being disruptive. Generally, students can voice whatever opinion they have, even if it is offensive, as long as it doesn't create a disruption. Having people refusing to speak in an instiution of learning, where speaking is necessary for learning to transpire, would definitely be considered disruptive. It would also be unfair to the good taxpayer's dollar- keep in mind that our schools aren't the ones persecuting homosexuals or denying them rights- thus an entire day wasted of tax dollars would be quite unfortunate.
My advice to those wishing to participate in the day is to do it in a unique way while at school; i.e., show support in a different way so as to demonstrate a message but not to create a disruption (such as wearing a white t-shirt would do).
One last thought- nobody says you can or cannot do something, it is entirely your personal decision. However, whatever decision you make, you must be willing to accept the consequences.
We always had a pretty big day of silence crowd at my highschool. It was never disruptive. If there were classes where people had to talk, then they would. Often, if a teacher wanted them to say something, they'd write it down. It was never a really big deal.
"-bah!! Pardon the "bah!" I feel several "bahs!", but out of courtesy I only say one."
H.P. Lovecraft
That would obviously go back to the litmus test- Is it disruptive? Then it's not school appropriate.
I still believe it's unappropriate in the school setting- not because of the message, but because of the manner in which the message is expressed. There are a million other ways to express the view without risking making a school day less productive.
I would forsee it being disruptive in my school, where a large majority of students feel the need to act as victims in order to procure sympathy rather than as protesters in order to create awareness.
Well, I suppose you would have to take it in a case by case situation.
"-bah!! Pardon the "bah!" I feel several "bahs!", but out of courtesy I only say one."
H.P. Lovecraft
Personally, I would be inclined to allow BOTH of these actions, so long as they remain relatively non-intrusive to the learning environment. However, there is one important difference between these two protests. The Day of Silence is a secular protest, advocating for the rights of gay and lesbian citizens. The Day of Purity, however, is primarily intended as a religious protest, which makes it a likely candidate for disqualification under the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. The Day of Purity is an official product of the Liberty Council, a religiously-based action group, and is just the latest attempt by this group to illegally introduce religious discussion into the public schools.
percivale
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Check out Progressive PRIDE, a Gay-Straight Alliance for the Progressive U community.
Good point. One solution, however, is to exclude discussion about the day but allow participation by wearing the t-shirts. It's a personal statement while not forcing its ideals onto others (by, for example, studying the issue in school).