San Francisco Chronicle; Monday, February 16, 1998
Michael Hytha, Chronicle Staff Writer

In the program's first 10 days, fewer than 20 of Richmond High School's 1,400 students have asked for condoms, which the school clinic gives out in three-condom packs. The lack of interest has surprised the person in charge.

"I think people can rest assured that there are not that many students participating yet," said Carole Nelson of the Communities in Schools program that runs the program for the West Contra Costa Unified School District. "There hasn't been this mad rush."

Sipfou Saechao, Richmond High's junior class president, said she expects more students to ask for condoms as they get used to the idea.

"I think the thing is that some people are kind of embarrassed to go to it," Saechao said.

Health officials say they need to do more to get youths asking for condoms, along with the sex and AIDS education program that goes with it.

The Richmond High program, the first in the East Bay, is serving as a pilot program for the school district's four other high schools, and is being looked to as a possible model by school officials elsewhere. Since the AIDS epidemic began, many districts have discussed making condoms available to students, but few have done so.

With AIDS increasingly threatening teenagers, health officials hope that Richmond's program will spur other schools to begin their own programs. Nationally, a quarter of people diagnosed with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, become infected as teenagers.

Condoms have been available at San Francisco high schools since 1992. The Tamalpais Union School District in Marin County, by a narrow vote, adopted a similar program in 1995.

There are some signs that more Bay Area school administrators and trustees are willing to join them.

The Jefferson Union School District in Daly City is currently deciding how -- not whether -- to make condoms accessible to high school students.

Mount Diablo Unified School District board President Gary Eberhart was the only one of 17 candidates at a 1993 campaign forum who said he would support a program that included giving condoms to students in the Concord- based district. He lost that election, but won a seat two years later.

"If we could save one child's life from contracting AIDS or some other sexually transmitted disease or prevent some pregnancies, then it would be worth it," Eberhart said.

"I don't think there's any question that sexual activity occurs in students' lives. To believe otherwise is to just bury your head in the sand."

Even school officials with strong concerns about infringing on parental sensibilities and preferences say they would consider dispensing condoms.

"I wouldn't do anything as a school board member unless it was something they (parents) wanted to do," said Antioch schools trustee Francine Hand.

Richmond High's program allows parents to prevent their children from participating in a 30- minute class or from receiving condoms. Contra Costa Public Health Director Wendel Brunner noted that current high school students weren't even born when he was a medical student examining his first AIDS patient in 1978, years before the illness was identified.

Making condoms available to teenagers is a key component of any HIV prevention program, Brunner said.

"That's going to raise a lot of difficult questions for us old folks. But none of those issues are as difficult as watching a new generation succumb to the AIDS epidemic," he said.

980216
SC980204

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1998. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 1998. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .