Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 14, 1991 TAG: 9102140446
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FREDERICKSBURG LENGTH: Short
The delivery of heart-colored condom gifts to dormitories is part of National Condom Awareness Week, which begins on Valentine's Day and continues through Feb. 24.
"It's being observed on many, many college campuses. We're just getting started," said Nancy H. Yates, nurse at the school's health center.
The "Condomgrams" and T-shirts with safe-sex messages are the work of the school's Peer Education Group.
With AIDS a growing threat and the 18-to-25 age group the least likely to use condoms, college groups across the nation are trying to change students' habits.
Three weeks before Valentine's Day, Lori Parrish, head of the Peer Educators' AIDS group, set up her T-shirt display outside the Eagles Nest, a popular student hang-out.
" `Condom' is a word that I want people to learn," Parrish said.
The shirts, which promote the use of condoms with a ribald rhyme, are selling for $10. The Condomgrams may be purchased for $1.
The student group also is distributing literature that suggests things to say when a sex partner doesn't want to use a condom.
According to Parrish, student reaction to the shirts has been mixed.
"We get a lot of laughs, a lot of nervousness," she said. Some students check it out from a distance, apparently too embarrassed to view the display up close.
by CNB