Newspapers / Saint Mary’s School Student … / Dec. 1, 1991, edition 1 / Page 2
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Page2 The Belies Magic Johnson Shocks Fans Star vows to educate public By Candle Adams It was a shock to everyone on November 7 when the news broke that national basketball hero Magic Johnson had con tracted the HiV virus. America was stunned that this 32-year-old Los Angeles Lakers superstar had tested positive in a recent AIDS test. Magic Johnson was the first prominent American to announce his infection since Rock Hudson. People had finally taken notice of what a fatal dis ease AIDS has become and are realizing that it can affect anyone, including our own American heroes. Even today, some people are uneducated on exactly what AIDS is, how one contracts it, and the best ways to prevent themseives from getting this fatal disease. AIDS (acquired immune deficien cy syndrome) is a disease that attacks the body’s immune sys tem and causes the body to be unable to fight off other diseases with its own natural immune sys tem. Those who have contracted AIDS are more vulnerable to one (or more) of unusual types of can cer that do not normally affect a healthy immune system. The biggest question on peo ple’s minds today is: How conta gious is AIDS? The fact is that AIDS is not transmitted through sneezing, coughing, eating or drinking after a person or just plain being around someone who is infected with AiDS. it has not been found to have been trans mitted to househoid members or friends of an HIV-positive individ ual. Ever since AiDS has become such an epidemic, hours of research have been committed to finding the ways that AIDS is transmitted. There are two ways that research has proven AIDS can be transmitted: direct biood- to-blood or semen-to-blood con tact. It is not transmitted through food, water or casuai body con tact. But AiDS is transmitted through drug use, sexual contact and, in some cases, by biood transfusions. AIDS is transmitted through sexual intercourse. Five years ago it was estimated that between 69% and 72% of all AIDS cases were through sexual activity, but only 4% to 7% were transmitted through sex between man and woman. But recently there have been nearly 196,000 cases of AIDS reported in America, and the percentage of Students Tell of Most Embarrassing Moments By Katherine Hair These are from students of SMC; all of them will be anony mous. “My most embarrassing moment happened in 1989. It was my first date with my boyfriend, Christopher. The date was to be a romantic dinner at his house, i arrived to find him dashingly dressed in a suit and tie, with din ner waiting for me. Everything was going great until I reached for my tea glass. I missed, spiiling tea all over the table, Chris’s food, and his lap. I’ve been dating him for almost 3 years now, and he does not let me forget about that dinner.” “I was walking back with some of my friends from the smoking lounge and it was like midnight. We went to Smedes Dorm and we were on the elevator and I had to go to the bathroom so bad. I was doing everything I could to hold it, but when we got off the elevator, I went to the bathroom, but it was too late, I went to the bathroom all over myself. I was so embarrassed! I started to cry and my friends laughed. They call me “Niagara Falls.” “One embarrassing moment was when I was in gym class playing badminton. I was sur rounded by two of the most gor geous guys when all of a sudden my bra broke and fell to the ground! I was so embarrassed that I ran out of the gym and didn’t pick up my bra. And one of the guys picked it up and gave it to me!! “When I was in the 8th grade, I was walking to class with a friend. All of a sudden, I disappeared and my friend looked for me and she found me in a 10-foot hole covered in dirt. Somehow the electricians had dug a hole to put a pole in it, and they didn’t have any warning that there was a hole. I ended up going to class covered in dirt because I did not have time to go home and change.” “I was on vacation with my family, and we spent one after noon at an amusement park. My sister and I were at the top of the ferris wheel when it stopped for a moment, so I leaned over the side to talk to my mom, and all of a sudden, my retainer fell out of my mouth and hit a cute guy who was standing in line, right on his head. When the ride was over, I went over to him and apologized, and we started talking. He asked me out at the end of the day.” “My friend and I were at a pro fessional soccer game, and at halftime we were chosen to go down to the field for a contest. The object of the contest was to kick the ball through a huge trac tor tire, and when I kicked the ball, it curved and hit one of the guys holding the tire right in the groin. He rolled on the ground in pain while everybody was roaring with laughter." heterosexuals transmitting the disease has more than doubled. So what about the future? It has been estimated that by the end of 1992 there will be over 200,000 new cases of AIDS reported, and that figure will continue to rise. But the good news is that there are ways to protect yourself against the AIDS virus. The best prevention of AIDS, through transmission of sex, is absti nence. But if one is going to have sex, be protected. The next best thing is to have sex with a single partner and use a condom. The truth is, having multiple partners is putting yourself at a higher risk. Women should carry their own protection (condoms) with them, not merely hope or expect that the male will assume this respon sibility. It is a fact that AIDS does infect women just as much as it does men. It was a sad day when Magic Johnson announced that he was retiring because he had been infected with the HIV virus. But hopefully his courage to speak out has opened many people’s eyes to the fact that AIDS is a deadly and fatal disease. Club Raises Funds By Ashley Jones The Saint Mary’s Environ mental Club has been very busy this year. A month ago the club raised around $860.00 for the North Carolina Conservatory, so they could purchase land in Cary. The club did this by having two faculty member. Dr. Estheimer and Mr. Lee, challenged students to contribute money. December 1991 ® Betsy Helton, Sissy Overbeck, and Ellen Zimmerman smile for Santa
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