Obama Official Regrets Advice to Gay Student

[LuvNewcastle]

http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=11234842

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration Wednesday defended an Education Department official over advice he gave a gay student about sex 21 years ago.

The official, Kevin Jennings, says he should have handled the situation differently when he told the boy he hoped he had used a condom during a sexual encounter with an older man.

Jennings, who now heads the department's Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, has been under fire from conservatives and right-wing groups for not reporting the incident to authorities or to the boy's parents.

In a statement Wednesday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Jennings has devoted his career to promoting school safety.

"He is uniquely qualified for his job, and I am honored to have him on our team," Duncan said.

Jennings was teaching high school in Concord, Mass., in 1988 when a sophomore boy confessed of an involvement with an older man in Boston.

[Happyhippychick]

1. I'm sure the conservative groups are deeply concerned about the gay boy's safety.

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[LuvNewcastle]

4. Those assholes would love to have seen

the boy kicked out of his parents' house and out on the street. They might have sent him to one of those ex-gay camps if he was lucky. That guy did the right thing by giving him advice and keeping his mouth shut.

[Howardx]

2. just yesterday someone predicted this...

would be the next "scandal" and here you are! very timely.

[subcomhd]

3. OK, so if he had given this advice to Polanski's victim?

[LuvNewcastle]

6. The sex appears to have been consensual

in this case.

[subcomhd]

8. was the "boy" a minor?

[LuvNewcastle]

9. Doesn't say.

It also doesn't say that he was drugged and raped. At least he never said that to the teacher.

[izquierdista]

11. Sophomore in high school?

That's right on the borderline, with 16 being the age of consent in Mass. Most sophomores enter the year at 15 and finish it at 16. Maybe it was the day after he got the magical wisdom that came with his birthday.

[LuvNewcastle]

12. Lol, that magical wisdom does wonders.

Kids that age might not be mature enough to have sex, but they sure as hell do it, and most of the time it's totally consensual.

[bbinacan]

13. Apparently so

Per ABC.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/09/head-of-office-of-safe-and-drug-free-schools-expresses-regret-for-controversial-incident.html

[subcomhd]

17. so this guy advised him to wear condoms to his rape?

[Laf.La.Dem.]

5. I wish the boy would show up

and make a statement thanking Mr. Jennings for his advice he gave him 21 years ago:evilgrin:

[hughee99]

7. Wasn't he legally obligated to report the incident,

regardless of the advice he gave to the boy (which was good advice)?

[LuvNewcastle]

10. I don't know if he was legally obligated

or not. I do think that it would have possibly made the boy's life a living hell if he would have reported it.

[hughee99]

14. It is a dilemma, though it was good advice he gave

regardless of whether he reported the boy or not. I'm not sure about 1988, but I believe MA teachers are now legally required to report such information from an underage student (and I'm not sure if this boy would have been underage, anyway).

On the one hand, reporting this information could have made this boy's life very difficult (as you said), on the other hand, this boy could come back in 10 years pissed of that he reached out for help and was just told to "wear a condom". That's why these mandatory disclosure laws don't give the person the leeway to decide for themselves whether this should be reason for concern or not, though as I said, I'm not sure what the law was at the time.

[Unvanguard]

15. That's good advice.

Should I be angry about it or something?

[notadmblnd]

16. boy they're digging deep to get to the dirt on appointees?