Dear Readers,

In this issue of the newspaper, we discuss the idea of “not judging a book by its cover.” As cliché as this trope is, it’s important to keep in mind in a high school setting.
That girl in your English class who who falters while reading Hamlet aloud is dyslexic. The boy who can’t stay awake in class was up until 2 a.m. listening to his parents bickering. The girl on pom whom you smirk at for twerking is embarrassed by her frail figure.
As the opinion piece, “Provocative dance moves make headlines” mentions, twerking affects how we see people — for better or worse. Although some inappropriate gyrating can illustrate the character of an individual, the choreographic twerking performed by the pom squad in no way represents the character of the students on the squad.
Five out of the 10 pom squad members take heavy loads of AP classes. Although they have performed moves some would label as “provocative,” their true personalities are that of scholars.
Another racy issue covered in this edition of The Budget was in the story, “Let’s talk about sex.” We deem sexual education in high school health classes inadequate in providing real-life answers to the questions students are afraid to ask their parents.
Even in health class, students may be afraid to ask these questions in fear of being labeled as promiscuous. Still, opinion writer Nia Rutledge described how she was brave enough to ask: “Why do guys get morning wood?” The health teacher answered, “I don’t think anyone in the world knows the answer to that question.” We easily found this not to be the case.
These morning erections, or as Web MD classifies them, “Nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT)” are a result of male REM sleep cycles. The common myth that these erections result from sexual dreams have been proved false by basic research.
Another question that went unanswered was regarding the term “blue waffle.” No proof of exists that this is a sexually transmitted disease.
The examples mentioned in that opinion story are the elements of sexual education that high school students desire to learn.
So a question that inevitably arises is, “What else aren’t they telling us?”
Whether you hear a fellow classmate speak up in your health class or watch a friend at a dance recital twerk it out, avoid making rash judgments or “slut shaming.”

Sincerely,
Kendra Schwartz and Ashley Hocking