Newspaper Page Text
April 1,1992 Flagpole Magazine Page 5
Really Important Stuff
Ignorance is Bliss
At this moment, new legislation amend
ing the current Georgia sex education law
sits on Gov. Zell Miller’s desk awaiting his
signature. H.B. 1837, authored by Rep. Rob
ert Byrd (D-Hazelhurst) requires written no
tice to parents so they can review materials
prior to their being used for instruction, which
doesn’t sound all that unreasonable. How
ever, that’s not all says. It seems that one of
the main points of the bill is to "prohibit
instruction which encourages violation of state
law." Currently, it
is against state
law for unmarried
people to en
gage in sex (for
nication), as is
oral and anal sex
(sodomy), and
lest we forget,
adultery is also a
no-no. (One won
ders how many
of our legislators
would be behind
bars if their
sexual activities
were scruti
nized.) I think "encourage" is the key word
that sets off the warning claxcn on my Nazi-
ometer. It is sufficiently ambiguous to allow
several interpretations as to what sort of
instruction might “encourage" a student to
engage in illegal activities. Just how much
frank and open discussion can you have
about birth control and AIDS prevention with
out being accused of implicitly encouraging
sexual activity? Although some might sug
gest that this law may cause our educators to
approach sex education with more reason
and concern, more likely the effect will be to
turn educator’s concerns toward protecting
their careers, not student lives
This law just seems like more thinly veiled
maneuvering from the homophobic Right,
bent on controlling information and encour
aging misunderstanding and fear. The cur
rent trend is the introduction of “abstinence
only’ sex education programs into public
schools. Such programs
are designed to avoid
discussion of birth con
trol in favor of naive slo
gans like, “Pet your dog,
not your date!" One such
program is Sex Respect,
written by Colleen Kelly
Mast, a Catholic Church
educator, and backed by
such Right-wing wonders
as the Eagle Forum and
Phyllis Schlafly. The logic
is, “If you don’t tell kids
about it, they won’t do it."
Sex Respect is currently
being used by nearby
Clayton County and has
been considered by Ath-
ens-Clarke County BOE
tor possible future use.
Scary? You know it. Find
out more about H.B. 1837 and what it might
mean to health and education in Georgia.
Pick up the phone and call Zell Miller’s office
and voice your concern today.
Community Coalition
Since the Bradley Smith “Holocaust Con
troversy" ad fiasco in The Red and Black two
weeks ago, there has been a sizable commu
nity reaction amounting to a lot of indignant
protests, rallies and meetings... all with good
reason. The Red and Black had to be called
on its lack of judgement for running the ad
and anytime hatemongers like Smith need to
be constantly reminded that no one will ever
believe their evil lies. Last Tuesday, March 24
at the Congregation of the Children of Israel
synagogue a group of local citizens meet to
discuss and react to this manifestation of anti-
Semitism and bigotry. The idea was to form a
large community coalition that would react to
incidents of racism and bigotry, but would
also seek to promote harmony and under
standing through group interaction and edu
cation. It was a promising start to what could
turn out to be pro
gressive and
worthwhile move
ment. It is only
sad to note that it
takes such an
obvious and un
mistakable dis
play of anti-
Semitism to
cause so many to
react. Racism
and hatred is all
around us. Those
of us that really
want to make a
change might
want to spend some time looking into the
current redistricting plan for Athens-Clarke
County, for instance.
Some News
Enough ranting. Congrats to Daisy and
Sean Curry for winning Best Independent
Single for “Hum of Life’ at the Atlanta Coca-
Cola Music Awards on March 19. Look for
Daisy to be featured in the May issue of
Rolling Stone, in the New Faces section.
Like...wow, man. Also worth noting, in the
May issue of Spin expect to see a show
review of Bob Mould’s new band Sugar, fea
turing David Barbe on bass. The review is of
the show that took place at the 40 Watt on
February 20. Just think, you were there.
Fun Stuff
Last, here are some things that might be
fun to check out this week. This Saturday,
April 4 the 40 Watt will be
celebrating the 1st Anni
versary in the new loca
tion at 285 W. Washing-
, - .. Expect mucho fool
ishness and some good
yangst-powered guitar
rock from Five-Eight. On
Monday there are a
couple of options. One is
Flicker Film night at the
Watt, naturally. The other
is the return of the Mon
day Night Hoot. Spon
sored by the Athens folk
Music & Dance Society,
the Hoot has been with
out a home since the sum
mer of 1991 when the
Rockfish closed its doors.
Now lovers of folk and
acoustic music can enjoy
again at the new location at Lulu’s in
NormaJtown. If it all works out, the Hoot will
take place at Lulu’s the first Monday of every
month for a long time to come.
One more thing. This Tuesday, April 7, the
Downstairs will be the debut gig for a new jazz
outfit, the Straight Ahead Jazz Quintet. I think
they'll be serving Cajun food that night, too.
So, go a see if you can trick yourself into
believing you’re in New Orleans. It might
work... Nah.
Stephen Crawford
Editor, Flagpole Magazine
Seven Simons
HOLLOW
WED., APR. 1 • $4
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