HIGH LIFE / A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Some Teens Still Having Risky Sex

WASHINGTON — Magic Johnson has made bright and sexually active high school seniors more worried about AIDS, but not enough to change their sex habits, according to a survey recently released by an educational publishing organization.

Educational Communications Inc., said it sent questionnaires to a sample of 3,000 “A” and “B” students among nearly 226,000 seniors listed in Who’s Who Among American High School Students. The survey was conducted three weeks after the Lakers star revealed he had HIV.

Of the 1,150 students who responded, 21% said they were “worried” or “very worried” about contracting the virus. In a similar survey before Johnson’s announcement, the figure was 12%.

About 28% of the teen-agers reported that they had engaged in sexual intercourse. And both before and after Johnson’s announcement, 45% of the students in that group said they always used a condom.

However, in the latest survey, 42% of the sexually active students said they would continue to have sexual intercourse even if a condom was not available.

“These alarming findings confirm our worst fears--high school students see themselves as invincible,” said Paul Krouse, publisher of the student directory. “Unfortunately, it seems the message of the danger of AIDS will spread only with the number of young people who succumb to it.”

The organization said 70% of the students responding were girls. Four out of five were 17, and most of the rest were 18. Three percent were 16.

Eighty-two percent attended public schools.

The survey said one fourth of the respondents had not talked about AIDS with teachers after Johnson’s announcement, and nearly 30% did not discuss AIDS at home.

Of the majority who said they have not had sex, more than half said they abstained because they were afraid of contracting the virus. Other reasons, also given by more than half, were fear of getting pregnant, contracting other sexually transmitted diseases or facing disapproval of their parents.

Two-thirds said they were not ready or wanted to wait until they were married.

Michael Furuta of Villa Park High School was the Best of Contest winner in the Ford Motor Credit Co.’s “Credit Drives America” contest and received a $1,000 scholarship for his effort.

The contest, designed to promote the wise use of credit as well as the benefits of maintaining good credit, was open to Orange County juniors and seniors. Students wrote essays and designed posters on the topic, “Why is good credit so important for young adults?”

Semifinalists were Aaron Stokes from Orange High, Amy Moreno and Scott Madenburg from El Modena High in Orange and John Yi from Villa Park.

“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him float.”

--Unknown