THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 1993 13A JS. must take agpressive stance to stop HIV in teens, panel says ‘uters . , | , : - — : , , availability of condoms. | WASHINGTON — Government | Associated Press Miss America — eon gabe 10-minute mola. ihe message to ae ee sexual ac. tivity, should be inchided [in such a sarray over AIDS policy has left program] because this can be an ef- tional speeches to students, sald JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Lean- Todd Strawn, a businessman who censored in Fla.. tung peopir confused and vulnera-_ va Cornett, using her reign as Miss c,the Natlonal AIDS Commission | ‘Ameria t leach about AIDS, has AIDS sponsored part of the speaki°G | Hiythe game al, using the ab yaiiability of condoms at schools run into censorship problems In over views tour. breviation for human immunodefi- ong with pleas for abatinence. her native Florida. . | Jo Ann Rowe, the Bradford | — clency virus, which causes AIDS. ighest levels of the federal govern- not to use the word “condom” while board's needs,” she told a Rotary- said yesterday that school officials and skills-buildin g about other t th messages to talking to students; others forbade Kiwanis meeting following her are required to notify parents in vneans of reducing the risk of HIV Ne ove Deo hive helped to cre- the name of the disease itself. school visits. . advance if an outside speaker {is and other ene transmitted dis- ! tel Lair “When the notice said I couldn't “But I will not be an accomplice going to discuss sexual {ssues, y e and perpetuate a national atmos- eases (STDs), such as use of con- here of confusion and controversy,” talk about AIDS or sex, I was to the spread of this disease. Peo- such as AIDS. doms, should be included.” 1e commission said. _ ys floored,” she said. ple are dying from this disease. | The school district’s curriculum , . . “Vigorous and unequivocal leader- Miss Cornett, 21, was told not feel guilty that I didn't speak about introduces the subject of AIDS in Infection spreads rapidly hip" In a broad new educational ef- to mention AIDS when visiting it. 1 don’t want to lay blame, but the fifth grade and sex education The panel said HIV ts sp reading it Is needed to teach young people three elementary schools Tuesday the school board should feel inthe sixth grade. . rapidly among teen-agers bout the risks of AIDS and how to in rural Bradford County, south- gullty.” | 7 Miss Cornett said it was the As of the end of March, 1,167 west of her Jacksonville home. During her visits to the schools, first time she had been told not to cases had been reported to the gov- event Infection, the panel said. In a second report issued yester- lay, the commission also urged pri- vate businesses, in addition to gov- rnment, to aggressively develop \IDS-education programs as well as vorkplace policies for infected em- dloyees. “At too many work sites, manag- ‘rs and employees are in states of iental, complacency or ignorance — ill of which can have adverse conse- - juences for individuals and organi- zations,” the commission said. The AIDS panel, which was set up by Congress four years ago to ad- vise the president and the govern- “I can adhere to any school she presented awards in Chevro- mention AIDS. - ment on AIDS policy, ts in the final stages of preparing its final report to the president, expected at the end of the month. Its charter expires Sept. 3. . Years of ‘Just say no’ Many public health officials have pressed for years for programs to ed- ucate young people on use of con- doms and for availability of condoms | at schools, arguing that young people are sexually active regardless of the risk of acquired immune deficiency syndrome. -But under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush, top ad- ministration policy-makers pressed instead for a “Just say no” approach to AIDS prevention, urging sexual abstinence. _ They strongly opposed publicizing and distributing condoms, arguing that this would simply encourage early sexual activity. President Clinton, in office since. Jan. 20, has yet to enunciate a new policy on AIDS for his administra- tion. The 15-member AIDS commis- sion said a school-based AIDS pre- vention program should explore young peoples’ values and attitudes, provide them with information; build skills and provide access to health care and social services, including ernment. - But the low number of cases “masks the true picture” of infection among young people, the commis- sion said. The most common forms of trans- mission to date among you males have been through tainted blood transfusions to hemophiliacs and - homosexual sex. The most common means of transmission among young females have been heterosexual sex and the sharing of contaminated needles by drug abusers, the commission said.