David asked that this thread get back to being Minneapolis specific. I guess I would like to hear what the school board candidates to talk about how the Minneapolis Public Schools should address these issues. Teen pregnancy prevention is certainly an issue in the Minneapolis Public Schools. So is violence and rape prevention. In this vein, I would like to hear from the school board candidates how they feel about this -- and what the role of the schools should be in this area.
At 12:17 PM 10/22/01 -0500, W. Brandon Lacy Campos wrote: >Posts like the one below concern me, especially coming from a woman. Do you mean because I happen to be female, I should think a certain way? >All >young women and all young men should be taught that no means no. NO never >means maybe, kinda, sorta, uh-huh. If a person things he or she are >receiving mixed messages, then the person needs to explain, in detail, why >he or she thinks that the other person is communicating something other than >no. If the person continues to say no, then NO means NO. Soap operas are not >real life. Gone with the Wind is not real life. Soaps and Gone with the Wind are not real life -- but they model glamorous and exciting people. However there are a lot of mixed messages that happen about sexuality in real life. And what about the example Robert Schmid gave regarding a woman who is a victim of domestic violence denying it and asking that no charges be filed? The lessons from the media also teach women that the way to get power, attention and recognition is through their sexuality and looks. When I was in high school, I used to try to do more poorly on tests -- because I did not want to stand out being a "brain". Both men AND women have the responsibility to give clear messages. In reality, they don't always do so. Boys have a responsibility to accept -- no means no -- even though the non-verbal messages are different. Girls have a responsibility to send clear messages (and not model their behavior on soap opera actresses). The point is, it's important to try to prevent date rape from occuring in the first place. Teaching girls to take responsiblity and be clear -- can help prevent the situation from occuring. Will it prevent all situations? No. Parents have a responsibility to talk to their teenagers about this sort of thing. Schools have a responsibility to talk about these issues also. Looking at these issues with an either/or framework -- just doesn't work. So I agree with Robert Schmid's point here -- to Patrick Peterson: So, yes, if the focus of your campaign is to worry about language, then no you won't have my support. If your concern is to insure that the language of YESTERDAY is not lost as it evolves into the language of tomorrow, then that is a valid concern of the language department. If your concern is to reduce or eliminate violence in schools, then of course you have my support - but not if your plan is tell everyone that "no means no." EY: I'd also be interested in what School Board candidates think of "zero tolerance" policies. RT and the MPR Debate: On the subject of unclear messages during the debates -- I think that infamous MPR debate, where Lisa McDonald was offended by what she perceived to be RT Rybak's disrespect for her hearing disability is another example of non-verbal and verbal cues. Both Mark Stenglein and Sharon Sayles Belton routinely would write down questions for Lisa -- to make sure she heard them. I'm sure RT Rybak didn't intentionally try to use Lisa's hearing disability against her -- however, I'm also sure that Lisa was offended by RT's behavior. I also think that if it were me, I would have approached RT directly -- rather than through the media -- to tell him what I thought about that. Did RT Rybak miss some of Lisa McDonald's non-verbal cues -- possibly. I wasn't there. I was offended about this when I heard Lisa McDonald's story on it (the day after the debate)-- but I had not heard the debate itself. However, I also wrote RT Rybak directly about this issue -- and got an answer. Is this going to affect my vote for Mayor? No. It seems to be an example of poor communication between two individuals. Eva Eva Young Central _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
