Commentary on Council’s Condom Motion

Council Presenting the Motion last Wednesday

Council met last Wednesday during break in the auditorium to discuss and possibly vote on the condom motion. In attendance were two experts on the issue, the entire Broadside staff, the school nurse, and several interested students. Everyone in Council seemed confident that this motion would be a cakewalk, and frankly so did I. How could we have been so wrong?

Before I get into that, I’ll follow up on an issue that I brought up in my previous article. My main concern was the cost to the taxpayer that this motion might have brought, but that was subsided when Council claimed that Planned Parenthood would cover the costs. If I were to list all of the shady dealings that Planned Parenthood engages in, including some of the accusations of racism against it, this article will end up being 10 pages long, so I won’t for the reader’s sake. If Planned Parenthood wants to waste George Soro’s money on buying condoms for us, who am I to complain?

I really appreciated the fact that Council brought in actual experts, who brought very good insight on the subject. Some in Council commented on the fact that since they could not find an expert who disagreed with the motion,  the motion is flawless. That makes sense, right? Not really. Let’s take a closer look. One guest had tremendous experience with schools providing condoms. She claimed that schools giving out free condoms generally have lower teen pregnancy rates, which is true to a certain extent, but mainly in areas where it is a major issue. That’s when any measure taken is to have at least some effect on the issue. But the last time I checked, we’re not having constant teen pregnancies here at HHS, so I doubt handing out free condoms will do anything to lower our pregnancy rate even further. The truth is, teen pregnancy just isn’t as big of an issue that Council wants us to think it is.

Council really  tripped over its own feet when a suggestion was brought up to have the nurse interact with the student who takes the condom, which defeats the entire purpose of the motion about avoiding the embarrassment of buying them from a store. At least when I buy a condom from a store I don’t have the clerk show me how to put one on using a banana where all my friends can see. Based on the survey, a large percentage of parents agreed that there should be some in interaction involved, so Council’s going to have to clear that up somehow.

Council then mumbled about how anyone who disagreed with the motion shouldn’t even bother complaining and that by doing so they’re trying to ruin things for everyone else. Wow. It’s in the video archives if you want to hear it for yourself. That statement was later recanted by Council, so I won’t press the issue any further at the moment.

Council later went on to explain how people who have the resolve to not have sex in high school are the most vulnerable to having  unsafe sex, because according to Council’s logic none of us can control our animalistic instincts long enough to plan ahead of time to have safe sex, which is why we apparently need to have easy access to condoms at school. That kind of thinking completely dehumanizes to consensual sex and you: the students of HHS. And unless I’ve been living on the Planet of the Apes for the past three years without noticing, I’m 100% confident that you, my fellow students, are responsible enough to not behave like a wild sex crazed animal while at school or anywhere in public.

Debate was beginning to wind down when Mr. Murphy got up and delivered a speech. I highly suggest that you watch it in the archives yourself, as I cannot possibly give his speech justice by trying to write it down. What I will tell you is that he brought to light everything that was wrong with the motion: its preference of male protection over female protection, its moral flaws, and the fact that most students can afford condoms easily. Council then adjourned, leaving everyone with either a look of shock over his dissenting opinion that he “dared” bring up in regards to the motion, or with a look of admiration for his bravery to speak his mind. Whether or not you agree with the motion or not, we should all follow Mr. Murphy’s example and always be willing to exercise our first amendment rights, no matter the stakes.

Council meets again this Wednesday to discuss the condom motion some more. I again urge you all to tell Council to NOT pass the motion, for the sake of the school’s image of being a home to responsible and thoughtful students.