Leave Some Room for Jesus

1) Betsy Hart's article discusses the contoversial issue of what is really going on at high school dances. Is it dancing or foreplay? Some eyewitness accounts from chaperones, and even DJs have revealed a disturbing answer. Many Parents are becoming increasingly distressed that their children may be participating in the so called "freak dance", and other sexually arousing dances, which can become dangerous to students, especially to girls. Schools all over the country are beginning to crack down on innapropriate dancing, but surprisingly enough, other parents have taken a stand against this crackdown. They argue that this would only be ruining the fun of the dance, and provacotive dancing should not be banned. Hart and many other parents find this idea idiotic...



2) Hart's main point in this article is that parents need to 1) take a stand against povacotive "dancing", and 2) take responsibility for their kids if they can't take responsibility for themselves.



3) I definately agree with Hart's article because I find that any parent who knowingly allows their child to sexually "strut their stuff" (for the sake of fun???) is not fit for the role of an adult. For real, when have parents ever been there to let us do whatever we want and have fun??? If that was true, most of us kids would be "rollin' dubees in a van down by the river" (SNL reference lol). Parents, for our sakes, do your duty!

I also agree with this article on three different levels; as a Christian, as a student, and as a female. As a Christian, I want to behave in a way that is God-pleasing (leave room for Jesus), and being a temptation to my brothers in Christ is not who I want to be. As a student, I believe that the only place I should learn about sex is on the power point slides in Ms. Gooch's classroom, not on the dance floor. As a female, I feel much more comfortable knowing that I can enjoy myself in safety, because our school does enforce the "face to face, leave some space" policy. The idea of dancing with my friends in a safe, God-pleasing way sounds a lot more fun than doing the "freak dance"(honestly, where do they come up with these names???) with some guy.



4) Hart used many rhetorical questions in this article, but one particularly strong example was, "If the '$400 dress girl' had been sexually assaulted in the parking lot after the festivities because the dance wasn't a "dud," would her mom be happy, or suing the school?" I thought this example was extremely effective because it shows the consequences of the so called "fun" and the answer is obvious. It makes the reader pick sides, whether they are for or against this kind of "dancing", and what could happen if it not banned.

11/16 Blog: Imus

Rikleen believes that Don Imus should be welcomed back to the radio with open arms, and I agree that Imus has served out his exile and should be given another chance, but I don’t agree with her general welcoming tone towards Imus’ return. When a criminal is released from jail, we acknowledge that he has served his time and respect that, but do we welcome him back into society with open arms, or do we treat him with caution? Rikleen acknowledges what Imus said was completely wrong, but she seems to justify his actions by giving examples of what all the other inappropriate remarks talk shows have made. I would agree that the hypocrisy in the media is unbelievable, but it is by no means justification for Imus. Pointing fingers at others is not going to solve any problems, and it doesn’t justify your wrongdoings.

Rikleen uses some good examples of the corruption in the media, but her most effective example was about Coach Isaiah Thomas’ degrading, racial remarks about women. This example is similar to Imus’ situation, and it brings the article right back to the main focus of the article. This is effective writing because the reader should never be able to forget the main point.