CNU's Dean William Parks Colloquium Series to Present Documentary Film
News Release - November 13, 2007
Media Contact:
Emily L. Lucier
Press Secretary and Media Manager
emily.lucier@cnu.edu
(757) 594-8428
(NEWPORT NEWS, Va.) - Christopher Newport University’s Dean William Parks Colloquium Series
will present the documentary film, “The Education of Shelby Knox”, Wednesday, November 14 in the Ferguson Music and Theatre Hall. This event is free and open to the public.
The documentary broaches the controversial subject of abstinence-only sex education in public high schools, and introduces viewers to teenager Shelby Knox of Lubbock, Texas. While Ms. Knox’s county high schools teach abstinence as the only safe sex, Lubbock has some of the highest rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases in the nation. Although Ms. Knox is a devout Christian who has pledged abstinence until marriage herself, she becomes an unlikely advocate for comprehensive sex education, markedly changing her political and spiritual views along the way. When her political views lead her to get involved in a campaign for this education in her town’s public schools, and then to fight for a gay-straight alliance, she must make some very serious personal decisions. The film is an exceptionally timely and intimate look at the cultural wars from the perspective of a young woman’s life. The support her conservative family provides is an example of how a healthy democracy could look given the time and will to listen. It is the hope of the filmmakers that screenings will foster that dialogue and build bridges.
This film is brought to CNU by POV, the award-winning documentary filmseries sponsored by PBS. For more information, see: www.pov.org
What: Dean William Parks Colloquium Series presents the film “The Education of Shelby Knox”
When: Tomorrow, Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Where: The Ferguson Center Music and Theatre Hall
Free and Open to the Public
Christopher Newport University is a four-year public university in Newport News, Virginia. CNU enrolls 4,800 students in programs through its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Luter School of Business and offers great teaching, small classes and an emphasis on leadership, civic engagement and honor. Visit us at www.cnu.edu.