Pubdate: Mon, 21 Apr 2003
Source: Fort Frances Times (CN ON)
Copyright: 2003 Fort Frances Times Limited
Contact:  http://www.fftimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2343

STRAIGHT EDGE MOVEMENT THAT SHUNS SUBSTANCE USE SEEING RENEWED INTEREST 
FROM YOUTH

The 1980s-era movement started by young fans of punk and hardcore music was 
unapologetically clear-headed: no alcohol, no smoking, no drugs. Now that 
lifestyle -- known as "straight edge" -- is making a comeback.

Inspired by a song of the same name, the movement developed a reputation 
for intolerance in the '90s when a few straight-edgers turned militant, 
starting fights with anyone who challenged their views. Two were convicted 
in a 1998 killing in Salt Lake City.

These days, a small but growing core of young people who live the 
straight-edge life, also known by the abbreviation "sXe," are trying to 
reclaim a more positive image by promoting a range of causes, from pacifism 
and environmentalism to racial diversity.

"There are so many facets of straight edge -- so many different kinds of 
people who can adopt this lifestyle and define it for themselves," says 
Monika Seitz, a 24-year-old straight-edger who recently moved from San 
Diego to Columbus, Ohio. But the common thread is a promise to avoid 
tobacco, alcohol and drugs.

Seitz -- who figures she's had "one beer total and a couple of cigarettes" 
since high school -- recently helped form a club for straight-edgers across 
the U.S. who are into vintage scooters.

Other young straight-edgers have posted Web sites and online message boards 
to spread the word about the movement's positive attributes. And at least 
one school, Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., has sanctioned a school-owned 
residence with a "straight edge" theme.

Geoff Bickford, a senior who lives in the house, says he and six others 
formed the so-called "X" house "to offer some sort of a sanctuary to 
ourselves and others who want to escape the typical weekend activities of a 
college town."

Schuyler Brown, a trendspotter who specializes in youth for the ad agency 
Euro RSCG, has noted the movement's latest revival, which she says has been 
inspired by more than a "just-say-no" mentality.

"They've bought the message, but on their own terms," Brown says, noting 
that many straight-edgers are rebelling against alcohol and cigarette 
companies that market to them.

Many straight-edgers are also vegetarian or vegan and some promote 
monogamy, another aspect inspired by the lyrics to Straight Edge, the song 
by the now-defunct band Minor Threat that launched the movement.

Anna Tran, a 21-year-old student at the University of Utah, goes as far as 
calling her straight-edge life "something like a religion."

"Being straight edge should open your eyes to different points of view, 
open your eyes to view life on a deeper level," Tran says.

She says she was annoyed when she and her friends -- singled out because of 
their dark clothing, "rocked out" hair and tattoos -- were questioned by 
security guards at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Salt Lake officials had added 
straight-edgers to a list of potential terror threats.

There were no violent incidents there. But some law enforcement officials 
still worry about youth who take the movement to a confrontational extreme.

"On the surface, the ideals and beliefs sound pretty doggone good," says 
Brad Harmon, a detective with the Salt Lake County sheriff's department who 
helped convict two straight-edgers in the killing there. "But when you 
start getting into a cause and there's friction against the cause, then 
something's got to give."

One professor at the University of Utah who once followed the movement said 
she dropped her study of it after receiving personal threats from more 
militant straight-edgers.

Meanwhile, Michelle Etheridge, a 16-year-old straight-edger from Vernon, 
B.C., says raucous behaviour among "crews" of teenage boys who call 
themselves straight edge has caused more than one classmate to drop the 
label. Mostly, she says, the boys' antics -- jumping off low buildings and 
other stunts akin to those on the MTV show Jackass -- are aimed at 
one-upping one another.

Other serious straight-edgers bemoan the fact that it's now possible to buy 
straight-edge T-shirts and other merchandise online and even at some mall 
stores.

"It seems like a fad," says Scott Foster, a 31-year-old from Coplay, Pa., 
who's been straight edge for years. "Now it's a good way to rebel against 
society without . . . losing your car privileges."

Still, Bickford, the Wheaton College student, sees it as a cause worth 
promoting.

"If kids are taking care of themselves and living positively," he says, "I 
can't see a downfall to that."
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MAP posted-by: Alex