Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 4, 1993 TAG: 9304040124
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FAIRFAX LENGTH: Medium
CONDOM GIVEAWAY STOPPED
A student said she was threatened with suspension for distributing condoms at Oakton High School.The 16-year-old girl, who asked not to be identified, passed out about 50 condoms to students before an assembly Thursday morning. She also distributed information about using condoms and avoiding the HIV virus that causes AIDS.
Officials at Oakton High School first said she would be suspended, but reconsidered later in the day, she said.
"I'm not rebelling against the school," she said. "I think people should be safe. They should have knowledge."
Oakton officials declined to discuss the matter on Friday. Dolores Bohen, a spokeswoman for Fairfax County schools, said the girl violated policy by passing out information on school grounds without permission from the principal.
"You have to have permission to distribute anything," Bohen said. "When she was told, `You can't do that,' she said, `Oh, I'm sorry.' . . . She apologized and stopped."
The girl said she plans to continue her effort off campus, because she fears her classmates don't know enough about AIDS and safe sex.
In Fairfax, where sex education classes focus on abstinence, condoms are not allowed in schools. Condoms are discussed in grades seven to 12 during classes about sexually transmitted diseases, birth control and the moral and religious issues involved, a school official said. One ninth-grade assignment requires a student-parent discussion about birth control.
"We have a very conservative school system, a very conservative school board," said Marie Sterne, who coordinates health and physical education for Fairfax schools.
The student who handed out condoms at Oakton said she did so because she believes the county's approach falls short.
Her mother said she knew her daughter planned to pass out the condoms and information from Planned Parenthood.
"I absolutely support it," said the woman, who declined to be identified to protect her daughter's anonymity.
The daughter said her effort seemed to appeal to students. She said it took less than five minutes to hand the condoms out, in part because some came back for seconds.