Sex Education: out with the Old, in with the New
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Herriman High’s Blake Freeland Surviving 4th What I Wish I Knew Breakfast Club - P. 4 Spotlight- P. 6 Quarter - P. 8 About Dating - P. 10 Sex Education: Out with the Old, In with the New Talking about the Elephant in the Room STORY BY CORA ROMERO Let’s talk about sex. 44% of young adults will have sex by age sex, like teaching about it in school and 17, according to the Guttmacher Institute. allowing safe places to talk about sex, is Yes, sex. The big elephant in the room that’s This means that nearly half of our youth crucial to a teenager’s wellbeing.” slowly becoming more and more noticeable population is receiving sexual education As increased attention is being brought each day in the United States. Sex. More that is now no longer applicable to them. to this issue, re-defining the curriculum specifically, sex education. It’s a topic Surely we can’t expect young adults to for sex ed is making an appearance many shy away from, something we avoid practice safe sex if they lack the knowledge on the ballot for Utah legislators. The discussing in hopes that everyone will just to make informed decisions about it. push for a more comprehensive sexual figure it out eventually, right? Wrong. education is on the rise. But what exactly is comprehensive sex education? According to the American Medical According to the Sexuality Information Association (AMA) Journal of Ethics, each and Education Council of the United and every day in the United States 10,000 States, comprehensive sex ed, “includes teens contract an STD, 2,400 get pregnant, age-appropriate, medically accurate and 55 contract human immunodeficiency information on a broad set of topics virus (HIV). The idea of brushing such related to sexuality including human staggering statistics under the rug development, relationships, decision- seems impossible, and yet, it happens. making, abstinence, contraception, and The harsh truth is that only 13 states disease prevention.” require sex education to be medically accurate, 19 require information about In short, teaching abstinence-only sex contraception be given, and only 9 are ed is important, but on its own, it fails to inclusive for all sexual orientations. Even meet the standards for a comprehensive more surprising than that is only half of the education on a matter that could drastically nation mandates that sexual education even affect someone’s life. To combat the upward be taught in schools. This poses the question trend of teenage pregnancy, the spread of - how are teens expected to make informed STIs among youth, and further decrease the decisions about sex if the knowledge they prevalence of HIV and AIDS; the education are receiving is so severely lacking? policies currently in place regarding sex need to be reevaluated and reconstructed Throughout the United States, sex education to give young adults the knowledge they is taught primarily in two ways: a) it is need to make informed decisions. not taught at all or b) abstinence-only is the focal point of the course. Both of these PHOTO COURTE- SY OF COOPER We’ve entered an era where teaching approaches leave a lot of room for teenage BAKER abstinence-only sex education, or none at interpretation of health literacy. If taught all, is not only naive, but dangerous. HIV nothing at all, adolescents might look to and AIDS may not be as prevalent as they the internet or other sources that supply “Abstinence before marriage is super once were, but no one wants to be one of the incorrect information, leaving many at important and the only way to 100% 55 people who contract it daily. Teenagers risk for contracting an STD or accidental eliminate STIs and unplanned pregnancy deserve to be given the proper tools, pregnancy. An abstinence-only approach but, in the end, teens will have sex regardless. knowledge, and resources to make healthy, also has its fallbacks. Teaching a strong We should know this,” shares junior, Dax safe choices. “no” stance about sex doesn’t help those del Rio, “Abstinence on its own doesn’t who will say “yes” to sex. The reality is that work. Giving teens the tools to having safe The Prescription Opioid Abuse Epidemic In Utah Staggering Statistics and Valuable Knowledge behind the Narcotic Crisis STORY BY MILLIE BENKERT, CO-EDITOR HERRIMAN- While driving along any the drug epidemic in Utah has become? knows a person in Utah who has been highway in Utah, huge billboards plaster affected by this drug and opioid specific the roadside, all strewn with statistics According to Opidemic.org, Utah has crisis. Opioids have gained major attention about the drug crisis in Utah. the 7th highest drug overdose rate in the in the news and media, as the epidemic United States. A government funded group stems all across the United States, but not Some boards have catchy slogans, “Heroin. called the Violence and Injury Prevention everyone knows what these drugs even Pills. It all kills,” while others reach more program came out with a statement saying, are. Opioids are highly addictive narcotic personally to the viewers: “Did you know? “opioid overdose deaths are highest in substances, commonly prescribed to treat 90% of drug and alcohol abusers start Carbon, Emery, Duchesne, Juab, Weber, pain. You read that correctly- most of the in their teens.” But these billboards only Salt Lake, and Tootle counties, where rates drugs that are causing this nation-wide capture our attention for a few seconds, are above the state average of 20.3 deaths epidemic are prescribed by doctors. and our minds quicky stray from the per 100,000 population. While the number messages these boards convey. Does 20.3 out of 100,000 may not appear to be Continued on next page. anyone actually understand just how large high, it seems like everyone somehow News 2 Big Time Expansion The Prescription in Herriman Opioid Abuse Olympia Hills Project stirs up controversy among residents Epidemic In Utah STORY BY KYLE GABRIELSEN, STAFF Continued from page 1. and codeine, and increased WRITER from $48 million, to over Opioids are addictive in $2.4 billion. Coinciding with nature because they change this rise in sales, the number the chemistry of the brain, of prescriptions written for which leads to drug tolerance. opioids increased in almost Eventually, users will need every nation. a higher dose of the drug, in order to achieve the same We see the opioid problem on effect. a nationwide scale, but it also affects small town communities According to the Center for that you would never expect. Disease Control and Prevention According to an article written (CDC), “more than 191 by Chris Conover, former million opioid prescriptions Duke University research were dispensed to American scholar, “In 1958, per capita patients in 2017… Alabama, health expenditures were wrote almost three times as $134. By 2012, per capita many of these prescriptions per health spending had climbed person as those in the lowest to $8,953.” Because the cost of prescribing state, Hawaii.” health care has skyrocketed One study, based on 2010 data, over the past several years, showed that inappropriate many people simply cannot opioid prescribing rates are afford it, subsequently substantially higher among putting themselves at a bigger Medicaid patients than health risk. For example a among privately insured patient could see a doctor patients. So if we have the for severe back pain, and be knowledge about how recommended for surgery, and dangerous and addictive then physical therapy. Besides these drugs are, why are the thousands of dollars worth they prescribed at all? of medical bills this would result in, the patient would PHOTO COURTESY OF DESERT NEWS also have to take time off of work, and they cannot In 2018, land developers have touched on the concern of afford to do that. So instead teamed up to propose a newer, overpopulation. “Adding so they try to deal with larger expansion just west of many houses, only adds so the pain, along with the Herriman high school, and the much more congestion. Instead help of narcotic pain residents of current Herriman of having farm land, and open relievers. While these aren’t very thrilled. The areas, we would be forced prescriptions cost less development would add 30,000 into a high stress, high density then surgery, new houses, apartments, and roads, and commercial areas.” physical business offices. This meant new Herriman, Riverton and South therapy, schools, parks, and commercial Jordan have all shared one and area. Sounds great, until you dig main concern: cost, and who possible job loss, a bit deeper. will pay it. They mention their The rise of the prescribed the patient will slowly become It is evident that the Salt Lake feelings towards it in a non- opioid epidemic began tolerant of the prescription, and Valley is short on homes, as supporting manner. With a large in the 1990’s, when subsequently need a higher we are vastly increasing in development like this it only professional and dosage to deal with their pain. population. So Olympia Hills causes stress and worries for the OF ROLLING STONE COURTESY PHOTO consumer groups pushed This is only one example of the was the proposed solution. But, existing communities that will for the increased use of path that narcotic drugs take, with a lack of sewage piping, be affected. opioids for pain management, forcing people to be wrapped water lines, and a multitude after pain was recognized up in a vicious cycle of use. of necessities, Olympia Hills But in March of 2019 developers as “the fifth vital sign” by became more of a problem, have worked with Jordan Valley the American Pain Society.