The principal of a high school in St Catherine is now conducting an investigation after two students, known to be a couple, were recently allowed to ‘exchange wedding vows’ and kiss openly in a ceremony conducted by a security guard.

The wedding ceremony reportedly occurred last Wednesday about 2 p.m., under a tent on the school grounds, with the guard being the officiating minister.

During the ceremony, the couple kissed, popped champagne and cut a wedding cake. The ‘groom’, a grade-nine student, and the ‘bride’, a fourth-former, did not only exchange vows, but also exchanged genuine solid gold rings before taking their wedding photographs.

THE WEEKEND STAR understands that the principal of the school was absent at the time of the ceremony. However, teachers were reportedly present.

“Teachers were there at the time, but they didn’t see anything wrong with it. Up to the other day, I saw the schoolboy in his wedding band,” a source said.

THE WEEKEND STAR managed to get a copy of a videotape of the reception, which showed a large group of noisy students enjoying the wedding cake. Pictures taken after the ceremony also showed ‘the couple’ taking part in deep kisses.

The cake is said to have been decorated with the marriage surname of the ‘newly weds’.

When THE WEEKEND STAR contacted the school principal, he told us, “I wasn’t at the school at the time, but I heard about it and I am presently doing an investigation into the matter. That is all I can say at this time.”

The source, however, also said that the boy is known to be disruptive at the school and previously had to sit out a year after getting into trouble.

The poor are not like us
Franklin JOHNSTON

Friday, February 03, 2012

Being rich sure beats being poor. They say the poor will always be with us, but then so will the rich. Truth is there are all kinds of poor people, including the grinding poverty in Africa, but the poor here are special. Our poor have standards and codes of conduct, so if your gift is not up to scratch they will say so and shame you in public. The middle class take what they get and cuss quietly, as aspiration limits expression. To make progress they can’t always speak their minds, but the poor have no such inhibitions. A friend in MoBay was shaken when his money was refused and he was cussed by a beggar; “Dis big, big white man tek mi fi bwoy; weh man can do wid 50 dalla? A weh’im cum fram?” The Lord loves cheerful givers, but it seems for the recipient his cheerfulness is conditional.
On the weekend I saw the rich at play in gleaming “Norbrook tractors”. The sturdy brands of 4x4s that would never see mud greeted Celine – acres of gleaming metal. Fit for purpose means they mount barriers and park at will. The good, the great and nameless unknowns had elegant rides. There is money here and some drivers seemed quite “agricultural”! I marvel that this opulence lives side by side with penury. Then I heard the new minister in Parliament rattling the tin for the rich to drop some dues to educate the poor. We have good high schools but need thousands of new school places. How will we do this?

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Vanity schools
There are many schools bearing the names of men (yes, they are all men) who never did a damn thing for the school or endowed a school. The names feed twisted egos. These vanity schools were built with our taxes. Why didn’t these greats not endow a school? They had the money. Many are rich, went to schools of pedigree and the son and grandson went there too. Why not endow a new school? The last high school fully endowed by a rich man was over a century ago. What? All brand name high schools were set up by rich white men of conscience for poor black and brown children. What? Yes, Siree! They started thus, but now they graduate the scion of rich black, brown and white men who get richer, grace the social pages and love their school to bits.
Our posh schools were founded for poor kids. The benefactors must be turning in their graves. They are now for rich kids, families, friends and their friends. We have dozens of local millionaires, yet not one says, “Four friends and I will endow a new school like our alma mater. Not a classroom, a proper high school! They raise monuments to business and can raise a new high school. The names Munro, Manning, Wolmer are of men who were not as rich as our moguls, yet they saw a future for the poor and left a lasting legacy in these high schools. Their bequests are now misused.
The rich are not like us but neither are the poor. My neighbour was hyperventilating on account of the regular half-wit beggar. She gave him mangoes and “he drop them same place at the gate as they were soft, an’ walk off”. She retrieved them as he mumbled that she “tek im fi bwoy”. He wanted firm mangoes and she felt spurned – both were affronted. Our beggars size up benefactors! When I wear a tie I am beggars’ bait, but in my flip-flops they think me a competitor. The middle class are on the ladder, want to climb and will go down a rung to get drive to go up three rungs. The poor see life differently. If I go down one, will I come up again? Risk aversion keeps them poor. Some 30 per cent of our people are not on the ladder. We assume they are like us but they are not. They may not even have bus fare, clothes or the will to grab a job as surplus – good clothes, good shoes, spare cash – is a middle-class option.
Most poor people do not want charity or “make work”, but if you point one to a job, make sure he is able to respond. He is not middle class, between jobs like you with many shirts or shoes. In fact, if he gets a job it lands him with a new dilemma – to find work clothes. Poverty is not a conscious choice. To be born of poor parents and find no escape route is the lot of many. Poverty is not like middle class “out of pocket” or waiting for a cheque. It is uncertainty, humiliation, depression. Every day is Ben Johnson day. Every day it’s harder to face the world. If each of us “adopted” a chronic jobless person it would help. Worst case if you know one such offer to help, a listening ear, fuzzy groans and you may save a lives.
Crash work
The middle class see short-term jobs as politics. They speak of “real jobs”. Yet the long-term is a series of conjoined short terms and a short-term job is lunch money, soap, bus fare, toothpaste and it buys one more day of life. Many professionals have never had a “real job” and live on short-term contracts – a couple hours or a year. If we could get half-a-million people on short-term jobs we would be blessed. Our politicians have always been solicitous of the welfare of the poor. I can think of no politician who would rather his constituents were poor than prosperous. But neither PNP nor JLP has created the jobs or built prosperity, so we must surmise they do not know how to. More anon!
Rex Nettleford
He was a genius. As I reflect on Gerrehbenta, his masterwork of dark foreboding, it is a celebration of sex – sensuous, writhing. Rex bequeathed us this massive uncircumcised dressed-up phallus set in a field of pulchritude, nubile supplicants; wenches to be ploughed but not yet erotic in flesh and bone. A powerful tantalus. A joy! This latest performance was by a youthful, talented troupe. Rex, Rex lives! Stay conscious, my friend!
Dr Franklin Johnston is a strategy adviser and project manager. [email protected]

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/The-poor-are-not-like-us_10685464#ixzz1lL06uWeL

 Thanking the FANS

Motion, G.Warren, Harry Toddler, Nature, Specialist and Toya would like me to thank all of you for the support. Motion says the responses from the interview was great and he loves the support you guys have given him.

   The JMG effect  has wheeled into action as people have been coming up to him about seeing the interview, selectors have downloaded ‘’Love Struck’’ , the song will be heard more on the streets of Jamaica.

      Motion would like to say on record that he does not know of a Rhianna Housten as was asked by someone in the comment section of the interview, Motion said he is saddened that someone would come up with such a thing but he will continue to press on.

VOTE
http://carivibez.tv/online/awards/

SO STRANGE I CAME UPON THIS VIDEO BY ACCIDENT…WI KGN 13 SENT ME ONE OF HIS SONGS AND MI LISTEN IT DEN END UP PAN DIS ONE…A LISTEN TO IT SINCE NIGHT AND A CRY..WE ARE BLESSED…BY OUR COLOR..NUH WATCH WE NUH BADDIE SEH

ANYWAY MI GO PEEP IF MI SI TARRUS WID A TWITTER AND A DIS MI GO BUCK UP PAN! SMH

I DON’T THINK THERE HAS BEEN A STRONGER MESSAGE FI 2011 THAN WHAT THIS SAYS…NOW MI TUN A TARRUS FAN