An Opinion Column
By Tahreer Khatib and Ashley Harris
Disclaimer:
The content in this opinion column is the opinion of two students at OHS and should not be taken as the advice of a professional. If you need help, then please speak with your counselor, a teacher, or an administrator. Reader’s Discretion is advised.
As if trends were not enough to worry about; following a
trend that is outrageous and insane can be a little too much pressure for the
average teen. Can it really be called a trend? During the winter of 2008-2009
at Osborne High School, scarves and
skinny jeans are the huge “in” style, but could teen pregnancy also be among
these winter trends?
Considering this topic we, the arbiters of this curiosity,
conducted a poll to see what our surrounding peers and teachers think about the
growing number of pregnancies at OHS. The polled question of “would you think
any less of a teen that was pregnant?” was shocking. 5.55% said yes, 3.7% said
maybe and 92.6% of students and teachers polled at OHS proclaimed “No, they do
not think any less of the pregnant teen.”
At
first, dear readers, we were shocked. Do people really think that teen
pregnancy is ok? Are people so apathetic that they honestly do not care about
this growing epidemic? When you think about it, more and more young
families are appearing in our society because early parenthood
is tolerated and accepted. Yet, when you think about it even more, one cannot
help but ask: “why?” Why is this an “epidemic” and why is teen pregnancy
thought of as a “common occurrence?”
Curious
about this topic we spoke with Ann McCarver, the OHS Ninth Grade Community
Secretary and asked whether or not she thought peer pressure falls into the
category of decision making when it comes to getting pregnant? “My goodness,
yes,” she exclaimed. “Look at the media; it’s all about sex. You look at the
billboards, you look at the music videos, you look at all the different stuff,
and there’s sexual undertones and connotation in pretty much everything that
most of the kids listen to.” If that is true, it seems we have no control of
our own lives.
It
makes you wonder. Is it really true? Are we just the victim of media influence
and peer pressure?
The
more we searched for answers the more confused we got. In fact, yes dear
readers even the authors of this article could not agree on whether or not teen
pregnancy was a trend, and what the cause of this epidemic is. I, Tahreer
Khatib, am a senior who feels pregnancy could not be a trend and I, Ashley
Harris, am a senior who believes that pregnancy is a trend.
Khatib’s
take on Teen Pregnancy as a trend
The
meaning of the word “trend,” to the average student is the latest fashionable
styles of clothing or material things. Teen pregnancy has been showing up around
school more than it should, but it can hardly be called a trend. Teen pregnancy
does not seem too fashionable but it has been becoming more popular lately,
though I doubt the pregnancies were intentional. The question is not whether or
not pregnancy is a “trend” but that “sex” is. Teens need to know how to set the
bar for their own developing styles. If ‘trends’ are too weird or extreme,
STOP! Though, I would not call it a trend, rather I would more likely call it a
“failure of those who have been sexually active to be more responsible about
their decisions.” “Every action has a reaction,” the wise would say, and I
fully agree. A good action usually tends to have a good reaction; as does a bad
action tend to result to a bad reaction. Thus, it is not a matter of teen
pregnancy but of “sex” being a trend that is the result of poor judgment that
is, if we look at a “trend” as something more cultural in definition then in a
textbook. Harris’s
Opinion on Teen Pregnancy as a Trend According
to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, the
word ‘trend’ used as a verb means ‘to show a tendency.’ Trend
is a loaded-word, but based upon this denotation, I honestly believe teen
pregnancy should be considered a trend. As extreme and controversial as
this opinion may be, I believe that people 'show a tendency' to undermine
the main factors that led to teen pregnancy. Seeing a young woman with a
protruding belly around school arise questions, and those who
are understanding, like myself, are aware of numerous
circumstances that may lead to teen pregnancy. For example, not
every pregnancy is considered a mistake or an accident, and often the case,
some teens are not surprised that they became pregnant. Whether peers pressure is the source or not, deciding to
voluntarily have pre-marital sex is a decision one must make for oneself.
Just as if choosing which color scarf to wear or choosing when and
whom to have pre-marital sex with it is simply a choice, and in
essence, pregnancy is a physical product of those choices. People
will always make decisions in their lives, whether for the good or the bad, so
showing a tendency to make an effective decision is an understatement. Henceforth, teen pregnancy is considered as a trend
because of the choices made by the individuals who make them. With
our almost completely different perspectives, we have both agreed on a few
points about this issue of teen pregnancy as a trend: (1) some students, of
course, do not mean to get pregnant but it seems to happen a lot. (2) Some
students feel that it is cool to be “more experienced,” yet do not like the
outcome. (3) Others feel that sex must be given if in a long term relationship;
(4) and some teens are even open towards consensual sex. The
pressures we, as teens, face everyday can be overwhelming. If a trend seems to
be popping up out of nowhere and you want to keep up with the latest styles,
you will do your best to imitate the trends. Perhaps it is natural or perhaps
our society supports it. Both ways you look at it, pregnancy seems to be
showing up in OHS and schools around the world more than it should. It seems to
be an odd, yet reoccurring trend. Although
some reasons for engaging in sexual activity may not be legitimate, there are
those who are not judgmental towards teen pregnancy because of the factors such
as abuse or rape. Some might argue that it is a merely a matter of low
self-esteem. Yet,
the pure truth of it all is that for every decision that is made, there are
consequences whether positive or negative. People need to learn how to use
their better judgment on things this serious, so that they can make better
decisions. The statement seems so simple however we both agree on this point.
While the sources of to our conclusions can be argued for or against, one can
not help but agree that bad judgment equals bad decision making. Advice from Khatib and Harris: Now
you are probably asking yourself, “But what do I do after the fact? What do I
do now?” Simply think about it. Some advice that can be taken from this is more
basic then you can imagine: if you do not want to end up in a situation where
you feel like you need to be sexually active, to which we and McCarver both
agree on is: “hang together in groups,” so you do not feel too pressured into
doing something you may not want to do. Or another way is “be involved in like
a youth group at your church, at your synagogue, at wherever you worship,”
having a spiritual foundation may support you in your decisions, Or better yet
“involved in sports or the drama club or something that makes you feel good
about yourself in the first place,” it will keep you busy and make you feel
good about your decisions. You will not even have time to think about the so
called “white elephant” of the teen world: sex.
Disclaimer:
The content in this opinion column is the opinion of two students at OHS and should not be taken as the advice of a professional. If you need help, then please speak with your counselor, a teacher, or an administrator. Reader’s Discretion is advised.
-Volume 1, Issue 2 -
