AIDS Group Distributes Condoms at School : Education: ACT UP’s action was prompted by a request from a fellow member who attends Estancia High.

The AIDS activist group ACT UP put a new spin on its traditional monthly condom giveaway Wednesday when a student who belongs to the group asked that fellow members come to her school.

Students at Estancia High School in Costa Mesa were greeted off campus before school began by about a dozen activists passing out the flesh-toned prophylactics and bilingual information sheets because a senior at the school wanted them to have additional information.

“It’s new,” said David Cammack, a group member, about the student’s involvement. He said that students from Corona del Mar High School, which is in the same district as Estancia, and students from Irvine schools have asked the group to make an appearance at their campuses, but Wednesday’s visit to Estancia was the first time a distribution was the direct result of a request by a student member of ACT UP.

The student was unavailable for comment. School officials said they were not concerned that the girl had invited the group, adding that her action had no reflection on the high school’s sex education curriculum.

Organizers said about 800 condoms wrapped in information sheets were handed out to students, with some rejecting the handouts and others stashing 10 or more into their school bags.

Both school officials and group members said the event ran relatively peacefully, saying there were no harsh verbal exchanges during the distribution campaign, which took place before classes began and lasted about 45 minutes.

“This time, a lot of kids didn’t take the stuff,” Cammack said. “They said they received the information (in school), but said they supported what we’re doing . . . and appreciated us being there.”

School officials, however, added that they would prefer that the group did not come to the school and that they believe Estancia’s health classes are sufficient education.

“I know what we do in the classroom, and I think we do a good job in that area,” said William F. Wetzel, an assistant principal. “I’m sure there’s a student who feels they’re getting shortchanged in other subjects--in science and math--but you can’t please everyone.”

Wetzel added that students did not seem particularly interested in the giveaway. “From what I could see, not that many kids were interested in listening to their spiel. . . . It almost bordered on the mundane.”

ACT UP regularly visits school campuses around the county to distribute the condoms and information sheets, with varying degrees of interest and controversy, as part of its continued efforts to promote more safe-sex and AIDS education in schools.

Schools are required by state law to teach students that abstinence from sexual intercourse is the best way to prevent catching the virus that causes AIDS, but schools such as Estancia in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District also discuss the use of condoms.