Oahu kids get
‘other’ survival kitsThe "Real World" project
offers tips on birth control
and anti-war material
The yellow plastic bags students are handing out at Oahu high schools these days look like the ones used in The Jesus Project last spring, but their contents differ radically.
Instead of Christian literature and videos, the teenagers are distributing "Survival Kits 4 The Real World" with birth control tips and the Bill of Rights, alongside pitches to end domestic violence and the war in Iraq.
"These survival kits will help students make informed decisions," said Chris Blair, a junior at Kalaheo High School who is involved in the project. "A teenager's world is quite small. They don't know that there are people out there who can help them if they have problems."
Sixteen social service and civil rights groups contributed material for the Survival Kits. One card explains what to do if you are stopped by police. Other brochures are designed to help kids obtain free health care, deal with harassment if they are gay, finance college without joining the military, and steer clear of prostitution and tobacco.
The coalition is following the lead of The Jesus Project, which distributed nearly 70,000 "Student Survival Kits" in a drive approved by the state Department of Education as an exercise in free speech by students. Those packets contained a Christian music CD, a video, a copy of The New Testament and other evangelical material.
"They opened the door, and we walked on through," said Michael Golojuch Jr., a coordinator of the "Survival Kits 4 the Real World" drive. "Their kits were one-sided. Ours offer 16 different views of the world."
He said that students aren't expected to agree with everything that's in the packet, but can take what they need from it.
Students at Castle, Kalaheo, Kaiser, Kalani, McKinley, Roosevelt and Farrington high schools have handed out the kits so far, he said. Next week, the drive will move on to Leeward and North Shore schools.
Students in public schools have a constitutional right to distribute literature peacefully, as long as the material is not libelous, obscene, or likely to create substantial disorder or invade the rights of others, Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto said. They can do so only during non-instructional time.
About 7,000 Survival Kits have been assembled, and half have been distributed so far. Student reaction has been positive, according to organizers.
"They flocked toward it," said Blair, the Kalaheo student. "They wanted to see what was inside." Blair said he works after school as a classroom cleaner and didn't find the packets had been discarded.
Groups that contributed literature include TeenLine, a telephone advice service; Hale Kipa, which offers shelter and counseling; Planned Parenthood of Hawaii; Not in Our Name-Hawaii, which opposes the war in Iraq; the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii; and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
