The writer of the “ Commitment Comes with Sex” commentary in the March 5 issue, Cindy Lee, was harsh and abrasive towards the readers. Most of her points were valid but the manner in which she conveyed them was not the best way to connect with the students.

Saying, “Young adults abuse sex,” is only a rude way of expressing your impression of a misunderstanding. Teenagers are very well aware of the consequences of having sex. They just don’t care. The same way the media “throws” messages that sex is good, they also inform us of the consequences, such as STDs and pregnancy. Commercials exist that express the chance of getting AIDS, and many websites provide statistics of teen pregnancy.

It’s true; teenagers are naïve, but not when it comes to actually having sex. They do not realize, however, that by engaging in sexual intercourse, they’re risking their entire future. Frequently, you hear from teen parents that they never thought it could happen to them: “We always used protection, but I guess we weren’t thinking about it,” or “I didn’t think I could get pregnant the first time.”

Parents realize that teens will be teens, and there is nothing they can really do to prevent them from having sex. If they do try to control a teenager, chances are that the adolescent will rebel even more. No book comes with parenting, so parents can only go by what they know.

Since sex is such a sensitive and misconstrued topic, it would be safe to say that each teenage situation can only be handled on a personal level. The real question we should be asking is, why do teenagers want to have sex, anyway? We should not chastise them for having sex.