WOODLAND HILLS : Students Buy AIDS Ribbons for Dance

Taft High School seniors Anat Rubin and Rachel Goldman got an idea about what to wear at their high school’s fall formal by watching the Emmy Awards last month, but it didn’t have anything to do with sequins or velvet.

Rather, they had their eyes on an accessory.

“We saw all the stars wearing red ribbons,” 17-year-old Goldman said, “And we thought, ‘Wow, wouldn’t that be cool if we could do that for our fall formal.’ ”

“We felt AIDS wasn’t talked about enough,” said Rubin, also 17, who has volunteered on several AIDS fund-raising projects. “High school students know about AIDS, but they think it’s not going to happen to them.”

Rubin and Goldman decided to sell the ribbons, which are symbols of AIDS awareness, in the hallways and classrooms of school the week before last Saturday’s dance. At a suggested donation of $1 per ribbon, the effort raised almost $250 for AIDS Project Los Angeles.

“Most people were really enthusiastic about what we were doing,” Goldman said. “But you always get some people who say, ‘What do I care? It doesn’t affect me.’ ”

According to figures provided by AIDS Project L. A., of high school students who are sexually active, 55% said they did not use a condom when they last had sex. Mark Senak, a spokesman for AIDS Project L. A., said teen-agers and women are the two fastest growing groups to test positive for HIV--the virus that causes AIDS--which he said is projected to infect 40 million to 100 million people by the end of this century.

Lisa Krigsman, a 17-year-old senior, bought ribbons for her and her date, Pejman Firouztale.

“I think people really need to be more aware of this virus,” Krigsman said.

“They know it’s out there,” said Firouztale, also 17, as he took one of the ribbons from her. “They just don’t think it’s possible to get it.”