Cheers: to creative marketing. The Associated Press reported last week that an environmental group in Tucson, Ariz. has come up with a creative campaign to promote the plight of wildlife threatened by human population growth. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the Center for Biological Diversity’s Pillow Talk program distributed hundreds of free condoms at an adults-only event Friday in Pittsburgh. The packaging features illustrations of animal species with slogans like “Before it gets any hotter...remember the sea otter,” and “Can't refrain? Think of the whooping crane.” Might we try the same thing locally? How about: “Before you think of startin’, consider the pine marten.” Or, “If you feel like letting loose, spare a thought for the moose.” “Wanting to get it on? First, give some thought to caplin spawn.” You get the picture.
Cheers: to listening. The Office of the Child and Youth Advocate issued a news release Friday regarding a situation in Stephenville where a high school student accused of sexual assault was allowed to return to the school he attends with his accusers to write exams. The school district says it was following the provisions of the Schools Act, while critics says the board should have allowed for alternative, less tension-fraught arrangements. In her news release, Child and Youth Advocate Jackie Lake Kavanagh said it has become apparent that “current policies and legislation do not provide the district with sufficient ability to address issues such as those that have arisen in Stephenville.” She stated, “Young people in Stephenville are stating publicly that they need and expect change. They have courageously named it. Collectively, we now need to listen and act to make necessary changes on a provincial level.”
Cheers: to plain talk. (Warning: viewer discretion is advised). A straight-shooting sexual educator in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, with the help of two community college students, is making sexual education videos on a shoestring budget, and they’re getting attention. You can watch one of them, “What to do before doing it,” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap7MurhdtqA The videos are short on props and fancy sets and big on non-sensationalized good advice. Even sexually mature folks might learn a lesson or two, including why brushing your teeth before sex is not a good idea.
