Condom Column Delays Paper at Florida High School

In Tampa, Fla., the Plant High School newspaper was temporarily barred from distribution for promoting condom availability. Pep O' Plant Features Editor wrote a column supporting condom availability at the prom in the 24-page prom section. The issue was set to be distributed one week before the March 16 dance. "I would rather my peers be safe," said the senior. "I wish everyone would stay abstinent. I wish there were no diseases or unwanted pregnancies. But it's a reality, teenagers have sex."

School officials, however, did not share Hernandez's beliefs. "The problem was, it was inconsistent with the curriculum we teach. We teach abstinence," said district spokesperson Mark Hart. Newspaper Adviser David Webb and Principal Eric Bergholm halted distribution of the paper's 2,500 copies after seeing Hernandez's column, "Face It; Sex Happens" and an accompanying survey, "Do you think condoms should be distributed at the prom?" Webb had previously approved the column, but the survey had not been approved.

The school considered reprinting several pages of the monthly publication. But in the end, it was distributed Monday with Hernandez's column intact. Hart said the principal had every right to halt the paper's distribution: "A principal can make an editorial decision on a student newspaper. It is not protected free speech," he said.

The incident marks the second year in a row that a condom controversy has arisen during prom season in Hillsborough County. Last year, Blake High School senior Lissette Stanley was barred from giving a commencement address after she put condoms in prom gift bags.

Linda Hernandez said she supports her daughter and wonders why the school would thwart a safe sex discussion given the spread of STDs. "Basically, the school wants to be too politically correct," she said.

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