In anticipation of motivational speaker Justin Lookadoo’s speech on relationships, Richardson students explored Lookadoo’s “Dateable Rules” and “R-U-DATEABLE” quiz on his website. Richardson students swiftly reacted to the speaker’s speech, with many students leaving his presentation upset, seeking answers from Lookadoo and those who organized the assembly.
“I took the one [quiz] for men and women,” sophomore Taylor Allen said. “I failed both.”
In response to students’ reviews of his website, Lookadoo said the website was irrelevant to his speech.
“That’s a books sales website,” Lookadoo said. “I looked at it when they put it up about 6 years ago.”
Before first period, students were informed that the assembly had been postponed. Within an hour of the cancellation, an announcement over the PA system said the assembly would go on as scheduled, but it would be optional. Students who did not wish to participate were taken to the school’s cafeteria.
Having researched Lookadoo, some students were concerned that the content in his faith-based dating books would find a way into the speech.
“I was worried that it was going to be a religious speech,” sophomore Maggie Herrick said.
Not just students, but also parents and administrators had reservations about Lookadoo and his presentation.
“There was some concern about the message that he was going to bring,” assistant principal Josh Eason said. “Once we were able to determine exactly what the message was going to be, we were comfortable with having him as a guest speaker.”
The school PTA recommended that Lookado speak at RHS, and it wasn’t his first visit to the school.
“They [PTA] invite me to come about every 5 years,” Lookado said.
During his speech, Lookado covered a range of topics, focusing specifically on teen dating and how it negatively affects both females and males.
The sexist complaints that came from the students stemmed mainly from the fact that Lookadofocused more on females than on males.
“I was most angry that the school administration and PTA thought this man represents the values of RHS,” senior Casey Myers-Morgan said.
In his speech, Lookadoo accused females of being horrible, awful and vindictive.
“That was degrading and it was sexist,” senior Katie Bywaters said. “We should not be subjected to ridicule.”
Lookadoo was eager to answer all of the questions students asked, hoping to elaborate on his intent and content.
“Teenagers are a lot more information savvy,” Lookado said. “They have the tools, but nobody has taught them how to use them.”
Lookado argues that there is a trend among teenagers to “drop out of life” when they engage in a relationship.
“The reason I do what I do is because I say what I wish somebody would’ve said to me when I was in school,” Lookado said.
He focused on the role of relationships and how they affect teenagers. He cited studies and statistics from psychologists, and a report from the Heritage Foundation.
“Psychologist’s tell us that girls use sex to find love and that guys use love to get sex,” Lookado said. “Those studies haven’t changed.”
Although he did not take questions during his speech, he listened to students’ concerns and spoke with those who approached him.
“I felt like he was shedding light to a lot of issues in high school – especially relationship issues,” senior Jason Ukandu said.
For some students, Lookadoo’s message was exaclty what high school students needed to hear.
“I was not offended at all,” senior Angelica Fisher said. “I thought that it was extremely accurate with most high school students in most high school relationships.”
Many students, however, found Lookado’s overall message offensive, voicing their opinions directly to him when the presentation ended.
“He generalized women as a gender, and he exaggerated these stereotypes that weren’t true to every girl,” junior Miranda Moses said. “It was super-offensive.”
Similar negative backlash rapidly spread through Twitter, and at 6 p.m., principal Charles Bruner, who was away for a family emergency, sent a voicemail to RHS parents providing his comments on the event.
“While some parents and students enjoyed his presentation, others were offended by his choice of nonreligious terminology to illustrate his topic,” Bruner said. “I deeply regret this. It was not the intent of the assembly to offend anyone, and I apologize to those who were.”
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