Example research essay topic: Sexually Transmitted Diseases High School Students - 1,537 words

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Condoms in School Distribution of condoms in public schools is one of the most controversial issues that our society faces nowadays. The public discussion about whether such distribution is effective, when it comes to combating sexually transmitted diseases and preventing an unwanted pregnancy, has been going on for over twenty years and it did not bring people, who have different opinion on this issue, closer to finding a consensus. This can be explained by the controversial nature of such practice, which involves numerous ethical and religious aspects. The majority of people, who participate in public discussion about whether condoms should be made available in public schools, do not think of this as something that has strictly practical application. In his article Condoms in School, Joseph Berger says: The debate over making condoms available to New York City high school students is laced with elements of class, race and sexual life style, not just religion, and it raises fundamental questions about what the mission of the schools ought to be (Berger). In this paper, we will try to analyze this issue, while relying on logic alone.

As practice shows, various educational programs, that are meant to make students aware of the dangers, associated with premarital sex, usually fail to reach their objectives. The reason is simple sexual desire is one of peoples most natural instincts, therefore, it is impossible to weaken it by the mean of applying to rationale. This is why it is wrong to suggest that condoms availability in schools encourage students to engage in sexual activities, as Bible thumper's imply. The article School Condom Availability, which can be found on the site of Advocates for Youth, leaves no doubt about it: A study of New York City's school condom availability program found a significant increase in condom use among sexually active students but no increase in sexual activity. World Health Organization review of studies on sexuality education found that access to counseling and contraceptive services did not encourage earlier or increased sexual activity.

At the same time, various surveys, conducted in public schools, suggest that availability of condoms actually promotes healthy lifestyle among students. It helps them to understand that the applying a scientific approach, when it comes to having an intercourse, is only the way to avoid unwanted consequences of sexual activity. American society is becoming increasingly multicultural, which results in increasing rates of racial mixing. In its turn, this means that young people, affected by it, are going to become sexually mature at younger ages. It is well know fact that Black and Hispanic students become sexually active much earlier than their White classmates. Given the fact, that many educational institutions in America now pursue the policy of celebrating diversity and bringing in more color, it becomes absolutely clear that this process would have to be followed by making condoms universally available at schools and colleges.

Self-appointed guardians of public morality need to understand that there is nothing wrong with students having sex, for as long as they do it right. So far, condoms remain the most effective mean of preventing unwanted pregnancies and reducing the rate of young people being affected by sexual diseases. Therefore, there can be no doubt that providing students with easy access to condoms in schools is beneficial to them. We need to understand that people who are opposed to distributing condoms in public schools, base their argument on wishful thinking, which has nothing to do with objective reality. Their Christian upbringing does not allow them to use logic, when it comes to dealing with social issues, which explains why their argument often consists of applying hateful labels to those who they consider as sinners. In her article Earthly Rewards for the Christian Voter, Katha Pollitt describes her visit to a private Catholic school, where word sex still has a negative connotation: I passed the time by browsing through the health textbooks stacked on the window sill.

Sure enough: no discussion of contraception (condoms are mentioned, but not described, in connection with people who have HIV); abortion, still legal here in the United States, isnt even listed in the glossary. Sex itself is discussed only in the vaguest terms, with emphasis on how to avoid it (Pollitt). Apparently, those who oppose making condoms available in schools do not understand a simple fact that sexual activity has purely biological essence, and not the ethical, as they think. It is time for them to face the reality according to statistical data, mentioned in Pollitt's article, 60 % of high schools students are going to acquire sexual experience, before they reach the age of 15.

This points out to the fact that well-meaning lectures about the importance of not having sex in young age, which still take place in American public schools, are highly ineffective. Adolescents feel that referrals to morality, which is based on the fear of eternal damnation, are deprived of consistency. Unlike youngsters in fifties and sixties, todays high school students receive a lot of information, regarding sex, which makes them to rightfully think of it as an integral part of being a human you and me are nothing but mammals, so lets do it like they do on Discovery channel. Therefore, for anyone with ability to think logically, it appears as something self-evident that condoms should be made available in schools, because it is better be safe than sorry. We live in a country where Church is separated from the state; therefore, it is intolerable when religious fanatics try to enforce their point of view upon everybody else. If religious parents think that their children should believe that babies are being conceived as a result of kissing, it is their right.

There are plenty of private Christian schools available, where kids are being taught that Earth is only five thousand years old and other nonsense. However, I believe that in public schools students need to be treated with respect. This means that we must recognize their right to have sex, even though we would not advise them to do this. In order to reduce the negative consequences of students sexual activity, condoms must be provided to them in schools. This is just a common sense.

It is very important to provide confidentiality, when it comes to making condoms available in schools. Public washrooms are the best place for the condom vending machines to be located, because then, the process of acquiring contraceptives becomes very discreet. In its turn, this largely eliminates the anxiety, which in the mind of adolescents is strongly associated with sex, and prevents students from sustaining mental traumas, as result. In his article Should Schools Permit Condom Machines? , Chris Brown makes a perfectly good point when he says: Sexually transmitted diseases are on the increase once again and it is the schools job to protect their students as best they can. Shouldnt young people be given the best possible chance to act responsibly and take their own precautions? (Brown). We can only agree with the author.

We live in 21 st century, when the pace scientific progress leaves no room for outdated religious doctrines. Therefore, the issue of making condoms available in schools should be deprived of excessive emotionalism, which people usually associate with discussion of socio-political problems, especially when it involves sex. Condoms were invented to allow people having safe sex. It is their primary function. Therefore, we need to think of distributing condoms in schools in terms of protection of children alone.

Those who try to blow out this issue into something bigger, care more about pursuing their personal agendas then about the well-being of students. Sex is the part of our life, whether we want it or not. The bulk of American movies and advertisement is sexually suggestive. Our popular songs are filled with sexual referrals.

Therefore, it is simply inhumane to demand abstaining from sex, on the part of young people, as Bible thumper's suggest. For as long as there is no law against students engaging in sexual activity, their right to do what they think is right cannot be doubted. The best society can do to protect students from unwanted effects of sex is to provide them with contraceptives and to explain how to use them properly. Of course, condoms do not guarantee an absolute safety. There is always going to be risk involved, when it comes to having an intercourse, but this makes sex only more appealing to young people.

There is only one way to fully protect students from possibility of catching a sexually transmitted disease to sterilize them. I have no doubt that Jesus would like it a lot, but fortunately enough, his influence on peoples minds is waning steadily. Bibliography: Berger, J. Condoms in School. December 22, 1990. The New York Times.

Retrieved August 11, 2007 from web C. Should Schools Permit Condom Machines. May 18, 2004. Liverpool.

Co. Uk. Retrieved August 11, 2007 from web Pollitt, K. Earthly Rewards for the Christian Voter.

November 18, 2004. The Nation. Retrieved August 11, 2007 from http: // 209. 85. 135. 104 /search? q = cache: 7 p 2 Pc 8 LSUJ: web School Condom Availability. 2007. Advocates for Youth. Retrieved August 11, 2007 from web

Research essay sample on Sexually Transmitted Diseases High School Students