Posted on 06/02/2007 1:52:00 PM PDT by Lorianne
Boulder High School has found itself in the national spotlight after media figure Bill O'Reilly called attention to a controversial Conference on World Affairs panel, held in April at the school.
O'Reilly, host of "The O'Reilly Factor" on Fox, featured the topic on his show — including the one that aired Tuesday night — prompting a torrent of calls and e-mails to Boulder High and the school district from viewers nationwide.
In one segment, O'Reilly played sound clips from the discussion, "STDs: Sex, Teens and Drugs," and called panelists and school officials "villains" for allowing it. The "villains," particularly outgoing Superintendent George Garcia and Principal Bud Jenkins, need to be held accountable, O'Reilly said.
School board President Helayne Jones said she was "ambushed" in her garage by reporters from "The O'Reilly Factor" last week. She called police officers to get the reporters to leave.
The school's principal also requested a police escort last week to get in the building after reporting being followed by a Fox camera crew.
Jones and others have received e-mails about the CWA talk, some of which contain "graphic threats," she said. One e-mail, sent to the Camera as well as Garcia, mentions torture and murder as options a "distraught parent" might choose for punishment or revenge against him.
MORE Read the full statement from Boulder Valley Superintendent George Garcia
Statement from the White family in response to CWA statement
Statement from the CWA
A transcript and audio of the "STDs: Sex, Teens and Drugs" panel. www.bvsdwatch.org
An audio recording of the "STDs: Sex, Teens and Drugs" panel, No. 2500 is available for purchase at www.tapesagain.com "I have no problem with engaging in constructive dialogue about what's best for kids," Jones said. "However, the e-mails we are getting are threatening in tone, are abusive in language, and I don't think that kind of behavior is at all appropriate in a public dialogue about what's best for the education of our children."
The Camera has also received an onslaught of calls and e-mails after Denver radio personality Dan Caplis told O'Reilly on the air that Boulder media were "completely ignoring" the CWA controversy.
The Camera broke the story and has had several prominent articles about the panel discussion and its fallout.
Daphne White, a student at Boulder High, initially complained about the panel to the school board earlier this month.
Her mother read excerpts at a school board meeting of panelists talking about the difficulty of maintaining an erection while using condoms, the naturalness of experimenting with same-sex relationships and the benefits of legalizing drugs. A female student also asked the panelists: "Would you have sex with someone you liked? But say he doesn't love you?" The unanimous consensus of the four panel members was "yes."
Garcia investigated the complaint and concluded that the presentation overall was appropriate, though teachers who required attendance violated district policy. In the future, students will be given the option not to attend CWA talks hosted at the high school, and more balanced opinions will be sought.
District spokesman Briggs Gamblin said the majority of calls and e-mails are people "venting" and that any threats are assessed on a message-by-message basis.
Ultimately, though, he said the district wants to move on.
"I think that to the extent that some people wanted more severe action taken toward staff, we're just going to have to agree to disagree," he said.
The annual Conference on World Affairs attracts more than 100 speakers from around the world for a week's worth of discussions, most of which are held on the University of Colorado campus.
Just make them watch o'reilly's show; that would be torture enough.
I think the whole thing is a simple spelling error. The Boulder educators have are missing an ‘l’.
It’s supposed to be public education, not pubic education.
I guess the problem with that is, they can't possible justify their idiot mentality nor their lack of morals and ethical behavior.
You bet they do!
They have no defense for their outrageous attempt to corrupt minors and so they just want to ignore it and hope it goes away..
We ain't gonna let it...
Talk about miseducation! How many 17 year old boys have difficulty maintaining an erection? I think the speakers must have been talking from personal (older) experience
That has nothing to do with the situation.
It’s not the messenger—it’s the message that matters.
Go Bill Go!
We’ll be homeschooling.
I wonder if they brought in Smiling Bob as a guest speaker?
Whats wrong with O’Reilly? Your tagline indicates you don’t agree with Mexican Amnesty, and O’Reilly agrees with you and has been turning up the heat on the Washington types who want open borders. I think his show is excellent.
All the responsible adults in this story seem to be adept at "changing the subject" but incompetent at everything else.
Obviously, from the tone of this comment, constructive dialogue is not an option. This brainiac thinks that nothing is rotten in the school district.
Seems to me that the only option non-pervert parents have at this point is the next board election --- better yet, install recall election. Now.
anyone who advocates stuff like this to teenagers ought to have a probable cause warrant gotten by Law Enforcement to sieze their home and work computers for a search for further evidence of contributing to the delinquence of minors..........anyone wanna bet that one or more of them are predators?
I used to watch him a lot. But I just can't get passed him having said the Swift Boat Veterans, men who fought for this country, had no right to be heard. He may not have agreed with their message but they had every right to be heard. He also refers to the race-monger al charlatan as "a friend of the factor", which he no doubt is. The fact that he calls reverend al friend speaks volumes.
He's just another ratings whore no different from whoraldo.
However, he is great at bringing stories like this Boulder one to the public's attention. Remember, O'Reilly has never claimed to be a conservative. I am less disappointed in O'Reilly than I am in RINOs like G.W. Bush.
And I am well aware o'reilly claims not to be a consrvative. He also claims not to be a liberal. His political leanings notwithstanding, he was dead wrong in stating the Swift Boat Vets had no right to be heard; he was effectively trying to silence them. Why? He was pandering to john kerry with the hope that doing so would result in kerry making an appearance on his show.
Like I said, ratings whore.
While he is far from having “jumped the shark”, the “body language” segment to me is right up there with Phrenology I could also do without the weekly “Culture Quiz”. I like him for serious subject matter. For comedy I can watch “My Name Is Earl.”
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