European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 10, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse A amps photos by Ken George bringing the aids message to the kids my my a Vik it it a a a a Quot a a is. \ to. S. C \ a 04 Ltd a y Ltd k Vav Quot v a a / Zmyj by amp or o / / cd v / Ronnie riggers adds a get Well message to a 60-foot Banner that will be sent to toe basketball Star. Yow a nurse with the Heidelberg medical Community gives teen agers a Frank review of aids issues. By David Tarrant staff writer it is 7.30 p.m., a tuesday evening and about two dozen teen agers Are not where they usually Are at this time a watching the popular to sitcom Roseanne or maybe chatting on the phone with a Best Friend playing a computer game or perhaps going with a Date to the movies. In fact they Are sitting in a youth Center in Ben Franklin Village in Mannheim Germany eyes glued to the front of the room where two of them Are play acting a sort of modern twist to the old Romeo and Juliet Story. Except this time Romeo who is wearing a baseball Cap and warm up jacket is putting some big moves on Juliet and pressuring her to sleep with him Quot do you have a problem a a frustrated Romeo finally asks. J Quot no. That s exactly Why i do not want to have sex a Juliet says. A do you have a problem Quot the crowd of teen agers erupts in cheers a Lor Juliet. The role playing is All part of a one hour program hosted by Barbara Yow a nurse who runs an aids awareness program for the Heidelberg medical Community. It s aim is to provide Clear direct answers to questions that teens have about aids As Well As to encourage a candid discussion about real life situations a such As the pressures teens face to have casual unprotected sex a that can expose them to the life threatening aids virus. Teen agers carry around a lot of myths about aids Yow says. Some of the myths include that you can protect yourself from aids by avoiding certain a types of people or that you can catch aids from drinking out of the same water Fountain As someone with the virus or even that kids Are too Young to be at risk of catching aids. And until recently aids seemed irrelevant to Many teenagers simply because they did no to know anyone who had the disease or the human immunodeficiency virus his which causes the disease. That May have changed overnight when the Brilliant National basketball association Star magic Johnson of the los Angeles lakers announced he had the aids virus. Suddenly a lot of teen age magic admirers Are sitting up and taking notice she says. Barbara Yow confers with Mannheim teens Martesha Mims and Taevon Jones. Yow whose younger brother died of aids in april tries to reach out to teen agers through schools Church groups youth centers and other popular gathering spots. Parental permission is required to attend the sessions which not Only cover facts about aids but also bring out candid discussion of topics related to sex. Yow acknowledges that for that reason Many parents do not give permission to allow their children to attend life has always presented some complicated problems for teen agers. But today s Young people Are coming of age at a time when what they know or Don t know about aids can be a matter of life and death Yow says. A teen agers Are at an age when they re beginning to develop a sense of invincibility Quot she says. Quot they re trying to be adults but without All the knowledge that adults Yow starts out with a Short quiz in which she asks her audience to answer True or false to 10 questions about aids. Some Are medical facts Quot aids is caused by a virus Quot True. Others Are lingering myths Quot aids Only affects Gays and lesbians Quot false. Yow then gives a no holds barred factual description of aids and what it does to a person. She discusses the virus that causes the disease and its medical symptoms. She also tells her audience that aids is a very Tricky disease because people who have the aids virus can live for a Long time a even 10 to 15 years a before they Start getting sick or show any symptoms of the disease. But during this period these infected people can spread the disease to other people the discussion stirs up the interest of the students who begin peppering her with questions. One boy wants to know How the disease got started because he heard that it came from monkeys in Africa. Yow said that some african tribes used Monkey blood in rituals but that it is Uncertain How the disease first originated. It could be that the aids virus has always existed but that it suddenly changed and became More dangerous and contagious she says. A girl says that Ahe a heard you can catch the disease if you acc Dently prick your Finger with a Needle that has been used by someone with the virus. Yes and no Yow answers. Studies have shown that among medical personnel Only a Small percentage of those who have acc Dently come into Contact with the aids tirus through such incidents As an accidental puncture whup and with a Needle have become infected she says. It s also Safe to have someone with the aids virus in your Home or school she tells them because the virus is spread primarily by sexual Contact and by sharing drug Needles with an infected partner but not by a handshake a hug or even from sweat or tears or sharing towels. Yow does not shy away from any questions including those about using condoms to prevent the disease. She states Only that condoms Are not 100 percent effective in preventing disease and that in her personal opinion the Best Way to avoid catching aids is to abstain from sex until you can enter into a relationship based on monogamy. When she says this however some puzzled expressions appear. A do you All know what monogamy is Quot Yow asks. Quot mahogany Quot asks one teen Ager Quot monopoly Quot asks another. There is scattered laughter until one teen Ager says monogamy Means that you re a tight Quot with just one person. Quot that s close Quot says Yow. But it can also mean postponing sex until you re ready for marriage or the responsibility of a having a Long term love relationship with Only one person. In any event she says a do not have sex unless you can talk openly about your sexual history and your partner s sexual even though the one hour session is Over quickly most of the students say that they have found the meeting helpful. Taevon Jones 14, of Mannheim High school said he Learned a lot Quot i thought aids was t something i should think about but i found this interesting i think it helped Quot thirteen year old Melissa Crisp who is in Mannheim Middle school said Quot it cleared up Quot a lot of questions she had about How you can and cannot get the disease Quot it was fun Quot said Yolanda Brooks 15, of Mannheim Middle school Rebecca Mahan a youth development specialist Rolls up the magic Johnson Banner. Melissa Crisp feta Down a few of her ideas on aids at the end of the education session. Before the students leave however they autograph a 60-foot-Long Banner showing support for magic Johnson that the youth services activity director Rebecca Mahan plans to Send to the basketball Star. Mike Lidauer 14, of Mannheim High school said he thinks the Banner will help magic fight the disease Quot it he can Lind the same strength that he used on the basketball court to Light it hell beat it a he says. Or As another writer said on the Banner keep slamming slam that hiv1&Quot Inlo Malion about aids including pamphlets written especially Lor teen agers Are available through local health facilities 4i it pamphlets written especially Tor teen agers Are available through local health facilities. Page 14 the stars and stripes tuesday december 10, 1991 the stars and stripes 15
