Standing room only at Batavia Library Board Meeting
Posted by Matt Yonke on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Board will decide on PP Teenwire website at next meeting
The crowd at the Batavia Library Board of Trustees meeting overflowed the room's capacity last night. Over 50 citizens were moved to action on the library's link to Planned Parenthood's Teewire website.
The board's meeting was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., and they were expected to hear the case of Batavia citizens on the matter before their meeting began. Local parents Scott Russell, Sylvia Keppel, and Kerry Knott were allowed to present their case, Mrs. Knott even brought a multi-media presentation and a packet of information for the board members about the material on the Teenwire website.
Although assurances had been made that all the citizens would be allowed to speak, at 7:15 p.m. the board cut off public comment and retired to their official meeting. They said that they would allow public comment from 6 to 7 p.m. before their next meeting on July 15, and they would make a final decision in that meeting.
We would encourage any concerned citizens, and especially Batavia parents, to attend the July 15th meeting and let the board know that you want them to exercise better judgment in the materials they recommend to Batavia teens. We hope that the board will hear the obvious will of the library's patrons and supporters on this issue and fulfill their role as public servants on this important issue that threatens the innocence of Batavia's children.
Press on the Event from:
Thanks to Dolores Weber for the pictures of the meeting!
As one of the presenters at this meeting, I thought things went extremely well. Not quite the way I would have predicted, but that's God for you - clearly, He worked things out as He pleased.
THANK YOU to everyone who showed up to support us - that was really overwhelming! The fact that there were so many people there, and so many were "chomping at the bit", if you will, to share their views with the board, certainly showed the board that the community is serious about this issue and won't just let it go.
Please rally as many as you can to be there on July 15th, and sign up early to speak! With 3 minutes per speaker, no doubt there won't be enough time for everyone, but just having a lot of people sign up will reinforce the idea to the Board of Directors that this remains an important issue to all the concerned citizens of Batavia.
God bless you all!
June 20th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
You have your abstinence only education in the schools and look what's happened. Teen pregnancy and STD rates have sky rocketed, it's a fact. You want to say you're giving people the truth, but you are trying to block access to medical information based on your personal moral convictions. I, as a mother, want my son to have comprehensive and accurate information about his own biology. That isn't equivalent to me thinking it's OK for him to have sex, but the reality is that I can't control him and he will make his own choices. When he does make his choices, I want him to know how to protect himself and other people. If you guys don't want your kids looking at Teenwire, then take responsibility and monitor your own kids. It's not up to the public to reinforce your specific moral beliefs. The purpose of the public library is to give all people access to truthful information. Teenwire's information is medically accurate- end of story. If you don't want your kids to view it, that's your right. However, if that is the case, then you should be the ones responsible for your own kids and not deny the rest of us access to good information.
June 25th, 2008 at 10:00 am
If you don't want your kids to view it, that's your right. However, if that is the case, then you should be the ones responsible for your own kids and not deny the rest of us access to good information.
That is all there is to it!!!!
June 25th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Kay and Kathy,
Once again, I must point out, no one is requesting the library to censor or ban the site! We are only asking that the library not take sides on controversial moral issues.
You keep claiming that the folks in Batavia who are upset by this are forcing their morality on you, but they're doing no such thing!
It's the library that is pushing a specific moral code on its patrons by recommending morally controversial material.
We only ask that they be exactly what you've said: a neutral source of information for the community.
And, let's be honest, it's not as if teenwire is the only place this information is available. There are volumes upon volumes in the library and on the web where this information is available.
Removing a link to teenwire does not cut anyone off from any information. It merely keeps the library as a source of information, not a pusher of a specific morality.
June 25th, 2008 at 11:01 am
"To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it."
~ G.K Chesterton ~
July 14th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
previous quote:
"To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it."
In my opinion, the same thing as follows:
TO DO what is right
"is not at all the same as"
DOING what is right.
November 27th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
thus,
Not wanting a baby
"is not at all the same as"
killing an unwanted baby.
December 7th, 2009 at 11:30 am