Here Comes the Judge

Five days a week, you can curl up in front of your TV and watch Judge Greg Mathis hand down judgments to wronged mistresses and slow-talking dope-fiends. But today and tomorrow, the judge will be settling a different kind of case: Youth vs. Premarital Sex. Why? “Having faced so many...

By Raina McLeod

May 3, 2007

Audio By Carbonatix

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Five days a week, you can curl up in front of your TV and watch Judge Greg Mathis hand down judgments to wronged mistresses and slow-talking dope-fiends. But today and tomorrow, the judge will be settling a different kind of case: Youth vs. Premarital Sex. Why? “Having faced so many obstacles in my young life I wanted to help young folks avoid some of the destructive things that affected me,” says Mathis. Today he’ll speak to more than 1300 students at an invite-only rally to kick off Abstinence Awareness Month. Tomorrow he’ll be the keynote speaker for the annual fundraising banquet at the Sheraton Miami Mart, an event open to all who want — and need — to hear his message and contribute to a superworthy cause. Tickets are $45, a small price to pay for insight from Mathis, whose autobiographical play was titled Been There, Done That. So will he be using his patented “tough love” approach? Says the judge: “I’m gonna appeal to their self esteem. This generation really has a bravado attitude, and if you challenge that bravado and high sense of self, I think you can get to them.” Tickets are available through www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling 866-468-7630. For more about the event, visit www.abstinc.com.
Fri., May 4; Sat., May 5

Raina McLeod

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