Opinion

Legislature outdoes its usual non sensical self with sex ed

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ

Columnist

When I was a kid, the fastest way to get me to read a book was to tell me it was too mature for my young eyes. I passed many nights sneaking peeks at my mom’s Harold Robbins novels to fi nd the sexy parts. And there wasn’t a kid in my middle school who couldn’t recite by heart from Page 85 of Judy Blume’s teen lit classic, “Forever.”

You know, the page where Michael introduces Katharine to his manhood, which he has inexplicably named … Ralph.

Speaking of members, this brings us to the Arizona Legislature, which may have done more to encourage teen reading than any governmental body in America.

Last year, it passed House Bill 2035, a racy little number that made Arizona the fi fth state in America to mandate parents opt-in to sex education for their kids. Had the measure stopped there, I would have been okay with it, but this being our Legislature – where common sense is not so common – they had to go just a bit further.

HB 2035 also requires school governing boards to “adopt procedures to notify parents in advance and provide them the opportunity to withdraw their children from any instruction or presentations regarding sexuality” – even outside sex ed class.

Which brings us to one local school district’s strenuous e orts to warn parents – about, among other things, kids cooking chicken breasts.

Times Media reporter Ken Sain detailed The Great Poultry Alert last week. To comply with the state edict, the Chandler Unifi ed School District Governing Board in December passed a new opt-in policy concerning materials that might be deemed sexual. Sain quoted Chandler High teacher Caroline Sheridan, who last week told the Governing Board:

“I teach English and I teach criminal justice,” she explained. “Somehow I found out I need permission slips before I can teach, “Of Mice and Men,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Othello,” “To Kill a Mockingbird.” I can’t teach about Emmett Till without a permission slip. Of course, this makes no sense.”

In January, the Permission Slip Police also sent home an opt-in form to parents of cooking students learning to prepare chicken breasts. District spokesman Terry Locke told Sain this was “a misinterpretation of the legislative statute” which “was corrected and did not apply to the context or content.”

Thank goodness the curriculum didn’t include a recipe for sticky buns.

Of course, the Legislature is hardly done with the issue. This new session has seen a number of sex education bills, including a measure to change the opt-in requirement back to an opt-out requirement.

There’s a bill that will require a parent’s written permission before a student can participate in “any school student group or club involving sexuality, gender or gender identity.” And there’s a bill – no doubt dead on arrival – that not only would make sex ed an opt-out class, but would also allow teachers to “discuss populations that historically have been more vulnerable to sexual abuse and assault, such as the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community and the disability community.”

Finally, there’s a bill that would forbid educators, restaurant workers and grocery store employees from “referring to certain foodstu s and edible materials using language that may be construed to convey a sexual connotation.” Among the terms set to be joining “chicken breasts” as no longer be permissible, as spelled out in statute?

Chicken “breasts.” Pork “butt.” Hot dog “buns.” The phrase “fi nger foods.” And Denny’s has been put on notice that diners will no longer be allowed to order the “Moons Over My Hammy.”

Okay, I made that last bill up. But with this group of elected geniuses, it absolutely could have been real. They’re just that … nuts.

Black-owned businesses need your support

BY KEASHA BEACH

Guest Writer

Black History Month gives Arizonans an avenue to celebrate and pay tribute to Black culture while simultaneously supporting the Black community.

Historically, our community has been disproportionately impacted economically and socially. Although we continue to face challenges, we are resilient and support one another.

Following the start of the pandemic and the social justice movement that arose after the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020, I founded BASE Arizona to urge the community at-large to support our local Black-owned businesses that were facing unprecedented fi nancial challenges.

The idea was born out of my participation in several online Facebook groups, including Buy Black Arizona and Black Moms of Arizona. Through social media, the black community was able to organize and connect, especially during a time when we all felt so distant.

Our goal is to create a welcoming, inclusive, supportive and shareable platform for the Black community and other members to connect, collaborate and ultimately prosper together here in Arizona.

At fi rst, we launched BASE Arizona to create a way for Black-owned restaurants to connect and collaborate since they were the fi rst businesses forced to close their doors early in the pandemic. What started with just four Blackowned restaurants/food trucks and a social media presence of about 300 followers has now grown to more than 40 Black-owned businesses, including food service as well as retail businesses, in just 18 months. And we now have more than 4,800 combined followers on our social media pages.

By focusing on digital marketing, our monthly outdoor Food Truck Fridays, held the last Friday of every month at Founding Fathers Kitchen in Chandler, have continued to grow. With an ad spend of only $30 on Instagram, we’re able to reach approximately 3,600 local community members and share info on our events.

The pandemic exposed just how many Black-owned businesses rely on in-person interactions when many of them were forced to close. Black businesses experienced the most acute decline of active business owners, with a 41% drop.

And to worsen matters, the government aid program meant to keep small businesses afl oat — the Paycheck Protection Program — only reached 29% of Black-owned business applicants, compared with 60% of white ones.

Although these numbers are stark, with the community’s support and investment in Black-owned businesses, we believe the alliance we created is helping East Valley-based, Black-owned businesses recover and keep their doors open. And in addition to that critical goal, we’re also promoting inclusivity and empowerment, all while raising awareness about Black issues.

This past summer, we saw our community rally in support of the fi rst-ever Juneteenth celebration in Chandler. Earlier this month we were honored to present a Black History Month series of events to celebrate the contributions and history of the Black community along with our partners the City of Chandler, Chandler4Change, Chandler Men of Action and South Chandler Self-Help.

When Black-owned businesses succeed, our community as a whole succeeds. We strongly urge East Valley residents to shop or utilize services provided by our local Black-owned businesses or share their favorite Blackowned business with us on social media @BASEArizona.

By uniting together we can ensure that our Black-owned businesses are able to survive and keep their doors open long past this pandemic.

Keasha Beach is an East Valley-based small business owner and founder of BASE Arizona (Black Alliance and Social Empowerment), a nonprofi t dedicated to promoting Black-owned businesses and voices.

Slams Mesnard for making petitions more di cult

Arizona state legislators take an oath to abide by the Constitution of the United States and that of the state of Arizona. Evidently State Sen. J.D. Mesnard of Chandler does not take that oath seriously. Arizonans have the constitutional right to petition our legislature when we would like to put something on the ballot for the people to vote on. Over the last few years there has been an e ort in our legislature to make initiatives, recalls and referendums much more di cult.

Mesnard has been the leader in taking away our rights by making it even harder to gather signatures on these petitions. He seems to have something against democracy.

As an individual with a disability the right for citizens to petition the government is a safeguard meant to ensure that all citizens can have their voices heard. Making it more di cult to petition our government will harm many communities that are directly a ected by what the state government does and does not do.

As a constituent of J.D. Mesnard, I’m saddened that he would rather create more bureaucratic red tape than allow his constituents to be able to create an Arizona that works better for them.

Call Mesnard and tell him you are against his e orts to end the rights of Arizona voters to petition our government. And in the next election, vote him out of o ce.