Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Miami Herald, Inc.; a Knight Ridder publication. One Herald Plaza, Miami, FL 33132-1693 - Thursday, December 5, 1996 Edition: State Section: Local Page: 5B Word Count: 518
Jacqueline Charles; Herald Staff Writer
Good thing. His message is anything but typical.
Fallon uses comedy routines, teenage slang and real-life dating scenarios to help students identify with his message about AIDS. Take the issue of sex. Borrowing from the popular song C'Mon Ride the Train by Quad City DJs, Fallon told an assembly of 700 students at Western High School, "You can ride that train, just don't go to the last stop."
The kids laughed. More importantly, they listened.
"HIV presentations have to stop being a dry, medical lecture," said Fallon, 34, program manager for CenterOne, a nonprofit Broward agency that provides a variety of services to people who are HIV-positive or have AIDS.
"HIV is not a medical problem unless you catch it. It's a social problem," he said.
Fallon has made a big push to educate young people about AIDS.
"I can't save you from AIDS," Fallon said. "There is only one person in the world who can save you from this disease. It is yourself."
Students also learned how the face of the epidemic has changed in recent years.
"Last year, three of the four people who got AIDS weren't gay," Fallon said, noting that a large number of women and heterosexual men are contracting the disease.
Surveying members of the crowd, Fallon found the usual myths. Some students were fearful of catching HIV from kissing, or by sitting next to someone with AIDS, or from drinking from the same cup.
"People need to have the knowledge so they can know what they have to stop worrying about so they can focus on the few things they do need to worry about," he said. "AIDS is a very difficult disease to get."
Ramon Canals, 17, heard Fallon's message.
Ramon said most AIDS lecturers are "boring and beat around the bush," but that Fallon is to the point. The high school junior said he was glad that Fallon not only discussed abstinence but also the correct way to use a condom.
"He understands us," Ramon said.
Nathan Lee, 16, was reassured to hear that AIDS can only be contracted through blood exchange or unprotected sex. Still, he's not taking any chances.
"I care too much about myself to entrust myself to the statistics," said Nathan, who lost an uncle to the disease three years ago. The high school junior says he is practicing abstinence.
"Maybe if my uncle could have heard what I heard today, he would still be around," Nathan said. "He didn't hear it, but I did. I am not going to risk it."
CAPTION: photo: Dawn Perkins speaking (a)l Steve Fallon speaking (a)
Photos by EMILY KELSEY / Herald Staff
TOUGH QUESTIONS: Dawn Perkins, 16, a sophomore at Western High School, asks Steve Fallon how likely lesbians are to contract HIV. Lesbians are in an extremely low-risk group for contracting HIV and AIDS, Fallon said.
NO EASY ANSWERS: Fallon makes a point to his young audience while discussing dating in a world of AIDS.
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