[ San Jose | News Index | Metroactive Central | Archives ]

Metropolis

News From Silicon Valley's Neighborhoods Just Say 'No' Campbell--Some kids do it, some kids don't, but most are obsessed with talking about it. "It"--sex--is exactly what nationally recognized speaker Brad Henning talked about to Westmont High students last week. The message, essentially, was, Don't do it. Henning covered topics such as how men and women communicate and how they perceive saying "I love you" differently. "I saw kids absolutely devastated by what was going on in the sexual arena," Henning said. Westmont sophomore Marcus Granger said he appreciated Henning's talk. "I thought it was one of the few times that a person didn't throw condoms at us and say it's OK," Granger said. Day of Silence Los Gatos--They wore black clothes and ate lunch together in silence. They were mourning not the death of a loved one but the prejudice faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Members of Los Gatos High School's Gay-Straight Alliance Club organized a day of silence to symbolize how homophobia silences people. "Homophobia does exist among individuals at this school, and this is our way of bringing it out," said club co-chair Chelsea Collonge, a 17-year-old junior. Collonge said the day of silence was both ironic and powerful in that club members used silence to try to end silence. Energy Fair Willow Glen--With high energy costs and rolling blackouts ahead, San Jose officials are trying to jumpstart energy conservation measures. Project Teem Up was started in August to work with neighborhood associations and business districts to develop usable energy-efficient programs. "What we have here in San Jose is the opportunity to create a really sustainable energy policy, not just for the next two years, but for the next 20 years," project manager Kevin Bryan said. "What we can address immediately is demand." [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]