Video: Oklahoma Follows Arkansas’ Lead on Campus Speech
Oklahoma passed a campus free speech law similar to Arkansas’ new FORUM Act. Watch this video to learn more.
Throwback Thursday: Gov. Bill Clinton Signs State’s First Home School Law
Perhaps you’ve already seen this photo floating around on social media this week.
This is a picture of former Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton signing the law that legalized homeschooling in the spring of 1985.
Standing behind him are the legislation’s sponsors, former Rep. Tim Hutchinson and Sen. Bill Henley, and Mr. Tom Holiman.
Home schooling has come a long way in the past 34 years, and home schoolers certainly are leaving a legacy in our state.
Today men and women who were home schooled as children now work in public policy at the State of Arkansas. They’re business owners and leaders in our communities. They are making an impact everywhere they go.
You and I get to be part of that lasting legacy, and you can help us continue that legacy by giving a generous, tax-deductible to support the work of Family Council and the Education Alliance. Click here to donate right now.
Teen Suicides Went Up Following Controversial Netflix Drama, Study Finds
A new study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychology indicates that youth suicides spiked following the release of the controversial Netflix series “13 Reasons Why.”
The study found monthly suicides among youths ages 10 – 17 increased by nearly one-third following the release of the series.
“13 Reasons Why” is a Netflix show about a high school girl who takes her own life, leaving behind cassette tapes to explain the reasons she decided to commit suicide.
The series was based on a novel by the same name.
Both the novel and the Netflix series have been blamed for an uptick in teen suicides — a phenomenon known as “suicide contagion.”
When teenagers see suicide depicted onscreen, they become more susceptible to suicide themselves — especially if they feel a connection to the character.
Needless to say, Netflix has taken a lot of flak for continuing to run the show, but CEO Reed Hastings defended the decision last year, telling shareholders, “13 Reasons Why has been enormously popular and successful. It’s engaging content. It is controversial. But nobody has to watch it.”
This latest study seems to confirm what many have suspected: That “13 Reasons Why” has contributed to the suicide epidemic among our young people. However, some are trying to downplay the study’s findings.
A different study published a few days ago in the journal Social Science & Medicine found young adults, ages 18-29, were less likely to commit suicide after watching all of the second season of “13 Reasons Why.”
There’s a critical difference between these two studies, however: One looked at pre-teens and teenagers while the other apparently looked at older teens and young adults.
Taken together, the studies seem to indicate that children who watch “13 Reasons Why” may be more likely to take their own lives; young adults might not.
That’s hardly reassuring.
Read More
Study: Youth suicides increased after release of ’13 Reasons Why’ on Netflix
Netflix teen suicide drama preceded dramatic increase in youths killing themselves
’13 Reasons Why’ and young adults’ risk of suicide
BreakPoint: The Hopeless World of “13 Reasons”
Photo Credit: Brian Cantoni (https://www.flickr.com/photos/cantoni/10715878456) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons