Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune (CT) - WEDNESDAY, December 4, 1996 Edition: DU PAGE SPORTS FINAL Section: METRO DU PAGE Page: 8 Word Count: 519
Casey Banas, Tribune Education Writer.
TEXT:
Ask DuPage County 7th and 8th graders how to prevent the spread of AIDS, and a frequent answer will be abstain from sex.
That is the message from many of the 175 youngsters from 12 schools who competed in the 1996 World AIDS Day essay contest sponsored by the DuPage County Health Department. World AIDS Day was Sunday.
The first-place winner, Colleen Carr, of Our Lady of Peace School in Darien, used a fictional narration of a high school girl rejected by her peers because she contracted the virus at birth.
"I wish people would befriend me because HIV cannot be passed from coughs, mosquitoes, bathrooms, hugs and kisses," she wrote. "Hugging and kissing is a hard part for most guys to understand, which is why I do not have a boyfriend. All of the guys are scared of me, innocent little me, a person with AIDS."
"Some people may think waiting until you're married to have sex is uncool," wrote Erica Camiliere, of Addison's Concord Lutheran School, the second-place winner. "But is it cool to be 27 years old, dying in a hospital room from something that can be prevented? One thing in my control is to choose not to have sex before I'm married. I don't want to be a statistic on a chart."
"Don't give in to peer pressure. It's OK to say 'no,' " wrote the third-place winner, Jamie Thieme of Westlake Middle School in Lombard. "You should remember it's your mind and body. I can make a difference by saying 'no' and others will follow, and maybe one day we can get rid of this deadly disease. Change begins with me."
Fourth-place winner Aaron VanDerMolen, of Wheaton's Edison Middle School, wrote: "People think that they will never get this disease, that it will never happen to them. And they are wrong--dead wrong. That attitude only increases the risk of getting the disease."
The next three winners also are from Edison Middle School.
"The spread of AIDS could virtually be stopped by avoiding behaviors that place anyone at risk," wrote Brian Luk. "I would also like to encourage those already infected with HIV to share their experience with other people. It might not change their present situation, but it certainly will help others understand the seriousness of the disease and the ways of prevention."
"To keep yourself from contracting the HIV virus you can use condoms during intercourse, abstain from sex, do not share or use drug needles and be careful of other people's open wounds," wrote Melissa Witkowski. "The HIV virus is not spread through touching a person with AIDS or sharing utensils with other people with the HIV virus."
"I can be responsible myself," wrote Larissa Ejzak. "There are many ways to be responsible. First, I can practice abstinence. That way there would be no way for me to help spread the disease, since I would not be exposed to it.
"I could also practice monogamy. If I only have one partner, even if I contract AIDS, I won't expose anyone else to it."
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