LAGUNA BEACH : Teen-Agers Pay Tribute to Local Victims of AIDS

Peter. Sheldon. Anthony. Jamieson. The names, printed starkly in dark ink on white cards, are attached to red ribbons tied to parking meters downtown. They are a tribute to Laguna Beach residents who have died of AIDS.

Though many of the two dozen Laguna Beach High School students who volunteered to put up the ribbons for AIDS Awareness Week say they personally know no one with the disease, they are aware of its impact on Laguna Beach, which has Orange County’s highest incidence of AIDS per capita.

Since 1981, when the county began keeping track of AIDS deaths, Laguna Beach has lost 275 residents to the disease.

Allie Halton, 17, who founded the AIDS Awareness Club at the high school last year, said the ribbon-tying project actually drew more volunteers than were needed.

“In general, I think the kids at the school are really, really responsive and respectful of the programs we have,” she said.

Summer Hanna, 17, who is vice president of the club, does have firsthand knowledge. She became involved in the organization, she said, after learning that a relative was HIV-positive. He died two weeks ago.

“When it hit me at home, then I decided I should do something about it,” she said.

Activities for AIDS Awareness Week, Nov. 27 through Dec. 2, have included panel discussions involving people who are HIV-positive, speakers from the community and from the AIDS Services Foundation, the largest AIDS support group in Orange County.

The school also hosted a performance of “Secrets,” an educational play staged by Kaiser Permanente about a teen-age boy who becomes infected with the AIDS virus.

The goal of the programs, Halton said, is to provide information that may have a positive effect on the students’ actions.

“I hope it impacts their behavior,” said Halton, a small red ribbon pinned to her dress. “It’s what you do that determines whether you’re going to contract the disease or not.”