It can be assumed that Julie probably did not read these statistics because she surmised that students who read this issue would feel they were the only ones not having sex when in reality, the majority of students haven’t/don’t participate in sexual activity.If Julie had seen the article and read the statistics, then she would have realized that 62% of students that were surveyed have not engaged in sexual activity. This statistic is actually 12% higher than the regional average (as stated in the article) and any knowledgeable student and parent should realize that if only 38% of students surveyed claim that they have had sexual activity, then students who choose to remain abstinent are not “the only ones not having sex”.

While it’s not possible to tell if people lied in their answers, I’d actually guess that the percentage of people who haven’t had sex is higher. The statistics published in the Cougar’s Sex Edition are as accurate as they can be while still coming from an anonymous and optional survey. I highly doubt that the statistics published in the Cougar’s Sex Edition don’t mirror “what’s really happening” as you say. I went to Ventura High School last year and knew people who chose to have sex. If you look around, you’ll probably see girls who are pregnant. Even if I think that high school students are too young to deal with the stress of worrying about having kids or contracting STD’s, I do not believe that it is “innapropriate” as you and Julie say to publish statistics showing the student population that some of their peers are engaged in sexual activity when they can simply look around and see that it is obviously true.

We have all learned about sex over the years and while some have decided to participate in sexual activity, the majority have not. The Sex Edition provides a lot of valuable information and though I do not agree with how the survey was conducted, I do believe that this edition is worth keeping and not in any way harmful.