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THE HERALD Wednesday January 30 Page 11 Opinion Condom dispensers in high schools a sensible move Opponents of condom dispensers in public high schools as a means of promoting safe sex among teenagers argue the dispensers only encourage sexual activity among young people However statistics show a number of high school students across Ontario including Halton engage in sexual activity con dom machines op no condom machines their schools According to a Halton Regional Health Department report ap proximately half of all students across the province are sexually active by the time they complete high school Although the health department doesnt provide statistics for high schools in there is no reason to believe they would be con siderably less than anywhere else in the province Indeed I interviewed several Grade and 12 Georgetown District High School students on the subject of sex education in October 1989 and the students suggested to per cent of that schools student population will have engaged in sexual activity by the end of Grade or Granted there may be some false bravado in these percen but not as much as to eliminate the fact that high school students will engage in sexual activity whether or not condom machines are in their schools Georgetown and Acton high school principals Bryn and Caldarelli suggest there should be no correlation between condom machines in the high schools and increased sex ual activity among students if the Bens Banter by Ben Dummett dispensers are to be introduced in the secondary education system We have to ask ourselves are we encouraging or condoning early sexual activity or are we just helping prevent danger in something that is happening anyway Mr Caldarelli was quoted as saying in an article on the issue in last Wednesdays edi tion of the Herald Both principals were contacted on the subject of condom machines in high schools because the Regional Health department and the public board of education is now studying the feasibility of condom dispensers in Haltons high schools When Mr Calderelli and Mr ask themselves the above question Im confident they will realize there is little if any con nection between condom dispenser machines and sexual activity among teenagers But before jumping on the con dom dispenser machine band wagon people have to ask themselves if the dispensers are the best way of distribtution For me the answer is unclear Students I talked to in October 1989 suggested that through the school nurse would be a better way of distributing condoms The dispensers would more than like ly be vandalized suggested a few of the students As well students could have any questions answered about safe sex if the condoms were made available through the school nurse Both suggestions are very valid The one suggestion that isnt however is to have dispensers outlawed in high schools Those inclined wont refrain from sex if there are no dispensers in their high schools but they may refrain from safe sex if they are discouraged from obtaining sexual protection As is pointed out in the Regional health department report many students are too to purchase con doms at a drug store Peace movements need new approach to be heard By STEWART Ottawa Bureau Thomson News Service OTTAWA There are so many peace and disarmament groups operating in Canada one doesnt know where to begin directing suggestions But wed like to pro pose that one or several acting together bring their cause off the street and into the conference chamber Peace is a wonderful cause Its Just that its proponents usually go about it in fragmentary and un constructive ways Many of the individual organizations have been discredited bringing down the influence and credibility of the entire movement Some peo ple still think in terms of draft- dodgers wandering flower children and leftover hippies Its probably fair to say that so far as Canadas involvement In the gulf war is considered the various peace organizations have had absolutely no influence In fact their efforts to date may even have been counter productive That protest by several peace groups at the External Affairs Department here in Ottawa cer tainly didnt help the cause There has to be a better method of spreading a message than merely preventing people from goingiowork The protests on Parliament Hill so far have been even less effective especially after some protesters attacked a placard carrying man supporting Cana dian troops in the gulf And the in cident in front of the United States embassy when a masked protestor burned and stomped on an American flag accomplished even less SEEM NEGATIVE There are many parliamen tarians who continue to view peaceniks essentially as anti- Americans in search of new causes The fact that the vast ma jority dont fall Into this category is beside the point The point is the peace movement rightly or wrongly does have an Image pro blem What has given the movement a certain advantage over elected politicians so far is the fact that its spokespersons dont have to answer questions along pro pose alternatives Generally speaking the thrust has been the form of protest usually of the peaceful Theres no dif in organizing a march or a sitin and writing posters about S Imperialism American aggression and the like Nowadays its Bring our troops home End the war the gulf and Peacekeeping not war mongering Those who accuse the pro testors of being antiAmerican point to the fact that since the Aug 2 invasio of Kuwait not one placard has been paraded in front of the Iraqi embassy As for bringing Canadian troops home from the gulf there have been no proposals advanced about how this should be done Obviously at this stage there would be some complica if the Mulroney government were to suddenly announce that weve changed our mind about fighting and want to go home IDEAS NEEDED The protests made more sense but even then there was a significant shortage of positive and practical Ideas of how Canada should act Now that the battle is raging there are even fewer The government is not being in fluenced by protestors who simp ly advocate peace and denounce war Virtually everyone of sound mind feels the same way But few people of sound mind think the present problem could be solved by the coalition troops simply laying down arms and declaring that peace is preferable to war Nor would the pullout of Canadians have any practical effect Those who advocate that Canadas role could be enhanced as a peacekeeper by now pull ing out of the conflict will have to make a more convincing case than merely proclaiming the belief And if they hope to get anyone in government to pay at theyll have to find a more effective way to present the case and indoors Why shouldnt the peace move ment have a fullscale con ference responsibly organized with an agenda for serious discussion There could be presentations from credible spokespersons along with discussions on all the im plications It could be a positive initiative not antigovernment not antianyone Government representatives would have a difficult time refus ing invitations and if the event were properly organized they should even the op portunity to justify their actions It would be a far more attractive proposition than shouting at pro testors through a megaphone or being shouted at Bet it would be easier to raise money for this than for another chartered bus for placard carrying demonstrators Do more good too Have you ever wondered why when virtually everyone prefers peace to war the proponents of peace dont even seem to enjoy social respectability Obviously a new approach is called for North American economy is on shaky ground By DIANNE Business Analyst Thomson News Service If the war is short I have heard this phrase a lot lately from politicians economists stock market forecasters If the Persian Gulf war is short the North American economy will rebound Oil pnces will fall and the stock market will soar Uncertainty will be swept confidence will return and the good times will roll Well folks the war is not likely to be short Saddam Hussein is holed up in a bombproof bunker 20 metres underground Janes Defence Weekly reports The report was carried in The Globe and Mail Saddams air force too is safe beneath the ground How the American led coalition can dislodge Saddam and his planes quickly is difficult to see Financial markets acknowledged the problem on Tuesday stock prices slumped and oil and gold moved higher Canadas finance minister the S Treasury secretary and countless forecasters have said what will happen if the war is pro longed the North American economy will slide even deeper into recession budget deficits will soar and interest rates may rise rather than fall ALL ROSES Finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of Seven industnal countnes tned to gloss over this grim prospect when they met in New York early the week The compnses Canada the United States Japan Germany Britain France and Italy In a joint release they predicted lower interest rates and an economic rebound later this year They based their hopeful forecast on a belief that is shared by other optimists that the true cause of the swift S downturn last fall was the loss of confidence caused by looming war Once uncertainty is swept aside they reason confidence will be restored and consumers will begin spending again It looks as though things in the Persian Gulf are going ac cording to plan U S Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady told reporters on Monday expect that to release a significant energy into the economy Well maybe More likely a military surprise will tip North Amenca into economic chaps overnight trig genng financial panic If this were to happen the United States would suffer more than Canada because of its shaky banking system Sound apocalyptic It would not be the end of the world Some sectors would flourish WHAT HAPPENED If this fearsome forecast comes to pass we will wonder why it happened War would be partly to Your Business by Maley Thornton Newt flf A Service brought down by inherent flaws I the North Amencan recession wonder what they would say if weretobecomeadepression blame The obvious cause of the war was Iraqs invasion of Kuwait But some say the real cause is oil Looking back a few years the true cause would seem to be Sad dam Husseins to dominate the region he threaten ed Israel and it threatened him But to some thinkers the truest cause of the war was anti- semitism If the Germans and others had not tned to wipe out the Jews or if North Americans had accepted more Jewish refugees the state of Israel would not be there surrounded by people who want to destroy it Yet war alone will not the North American economy to its knees It had already stumbled before hostilities broke out Ironic isnt it While we were ap plauding the collapse of the Soviet economy our own was crumbling beneath our feet They say the Soviet system was Berrys World Say didnt you use to be my friendly banker