“Free love,” a term used in the 1960s and 1970s akin
to promiscuity, was an ideological norm that would be deemed
unacceptable today.
In recent years, the number of HIV/AIDS awareness programs and
sex education courses has increased, pushing attitudes and sexual
behaviors in a more conservative direction.
Several student groups have collaborated to organize a series of
events for World AIDS Day to continue the trend of educating the
community on HIV/AIDS.
The overarching “Knowledge is Power” motto is used
to draw attention to HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness, said Dana
Helwick, coordinator for Students for International Change, a group
involved with hosting events for World AIDS Day.
“The “˜Kiss and Tell’ theme (of this year) is
about re-affirming safe sexual practices and is also about everyone
knowing how this is affecting others all around the world,”
Helwick said.
Since the discovery of AIDS at UCLA 25 years ago, increasing
efforts have been made to educate the public about the disease and
ways to prevent its spread.
“Ten years ago we didn’t know how HIV was spread or
what caused it, but now that we have that information, it is really
important for people to be aware of the issue,” said Versha
Srivastava, the director for the AIDS Awareness Committee of the
Student Welfare Commissioner’s office.
Educating others is important because some people still believe
AIDS is distant from them because they are not promiscuous or are
in a monogamous relationship, she said
“But the reality of the problem is that HIV/AIDS is a
worldwide problem and symptoms may not even show for long periods
of time,” Srivastava said.
Helwick said approaching the issue with an aggressive education
campaign is the most effective method of addressing HIV/AIDS.
“When we address the issue head-on, we touch people on a
more personal level,” she said.
While formal sex education classes began decades earlier, it
wasn’t until 1986 that then-U.S. Surgeon General Charles
Everett Koop began his campaign to institute comprehensive AIDS and
sexuality education in public schools.
Different studies have produced mixed results regarding how sex
education classes affect sexual activity among those receiving the
education.
Some opponents to sex education classes argue that the increased
information about sex encourages youths to be more promiscuous.
But most studies have concluded that there is a higher incidence
of condom use among students who have received sex education
classes.
A six-year study by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention concluded that the percentage of high school students
engaging in sexual risk behaviors decreased from 1991 to 1997.
Consequently, the study concluded that a
“significant” correlation exists between “the
decrease of sexual risk behaviors and the availability of HIV
prevention programs.”
Another study published in the Journal of American College
Health similarly concluded that while the number of sexually active
young adults did not change, there was a significant difference
between a student’s attitudes and behaviors about having
safer sex with fewer partners.
“HIV/AIDS education programs delay initiation of
intercourse, reduce the frequency of sex, reduce the number of
sexual partners, and increases the number of condoms or other forms
of contraception,” according to studies done by the AIDS
institute of the University of California San Francisco.
Opponents of formal sex education in public schools argue that
disseminating such information would produce the reverse of the
desired effect and would actually increase the prevalence of sexual
behavior.
Groups such as the Catholic Education Resource Center say
parents are the primary educators of their children and schools
must not violate a child’s innocence.
Other opponents argue that abstinence-only sex education classes
should be permitted, which do not allow for discussion of condoms
and other forms of contraception.
Abstinence-only sex education teaches abstinence to be the only
acceptable behavior for teens who are not married.