Have you dered what it would feel like jumping out of an air- plane, sailing through the air with nothing but wind for company,.... and then pull the life saving rip cord of your parachute and float to the ground? From those who have experienced the sport, there is nothing like ats

As a person with a zest to experience all there is in life (and having just at- tended a_ spirited organi- zational meeting with The Gem!) I went to an in- troductory meeting about parachuting in the Robert- son Library lecture _ the- atre Monday evening, Sept

ever won-

14 presented by a training school in Moncton. -

There were many peo- ple attending and we were mesmerized with a video presentation within min- utes. It looked absolutely beautiful! Imagine float-_ ing bodies, holding hands, a misty planet slowly twirling below, arched

Flying High

by Vivian Huizenga

backs, clothes flapping qui- etly around you... Really, it

~ seemed a peak experience.

Well, surely you've though of the parachute not ‘opening and being splat- tered on the ground. So did I. I wondered if statistically it was safer to parachute than drive a car or ski. I asked, but the presenters said there were no statis- tics. We were told there have been no fatalities in 10 years with this training school.

For $240.00 you can be trained and jump on the first day! The fee covers use of the gear, member- ship to the national organi- zation, training, pilot and 5 jumps.

It’s not so bad. You have a reserve parachute (in case the first one doesn’t work), you have a radio on your chest and are told what to do and when. Also, your parachute is packed by a certified packer (I have mixed feelings about

that). Jumps are $16.00 af- ter initial training and less if you don’t take an instruc- tor with you or pack your own parachute! It is an un- official tradition that first jump students give their in- structor a case of beer as well.

Lingo on the black- board in the meeting room enticed us with comments like, “Life begins at 9.5” (9.5 feet?), "When people look like ants, pull,” "When people look like people, pray,” and ”The gull sees farthest who flies highest.”

It all looks pretty good. What do you think? Oh, one. more note of interest: Insurance only covers third party; that is, it will cover what you damage but...

The phone number at the drop zone is 506-858-— 5562. Perhaps you should drop by.

No free condoms at Catholic university

(CUP) — While most first year students at Nova Sco- tia universities will be han- dling AIDS education pack- ages at registration or ori- entation tables, some of the schools involved in the blitz are removing the free

condoms and explicit safe-

sex explanations included in the packets.

“This is a Catholic uni- versity — there’s no way (we'll hand out condoms),” said a secretary employed by the Mount Saint Vin- cent’s University student council. “It’s fine to tell people how they can get it, the basic information. But not condoms.”

Ten of the province’s 14 universities, colleges and technical schools are partic- ipating in the publicity pro- gramme, co-ordinated by the Halifax Metro Area Committee on AIDS. Only four schools are accepting the safes. 2

The legal-sized, pale blue envelopes to be dis-

tributed are emblazoned with the grim message, “AIDS: What you don’t know can hurt you”. In addition to a free prophy-

lactic and a bookmark with —

guidelines to safer sex, the giveaway includes a blood- donor brochure from the Red Cross, a pamphlet

from Health and Welfare

Canada, and _ instructions on the proper way to use a condom.

This is the second at- tempt by AIDS educators to reach a mass student au- dience and inform Canadi- ans about AIDS, an incur- able sexually-transmitted disease which has: claimed the lives of 635 Canadi- ans. Two years ago, the Federal Centre for AIDS placed advertisements in a

nationally-distributed stu- |

dent coupon package.

Two universities — in- cluding St. Mary’s in Hal- ifax — have refused to al- low students access to the

bookmark, which lists safe and risky sexual activities.

Metro Area Commit- tee on AIDS co-ordinator Madeline Comeau is con- cerned the loss may hurt students.

“I don’t quite under- stand why they made such a fuss,” says Comeau. “We want them to read the printed material. The brochure from Health and Welfare Canada says AIDS is transmitted through bodily fluids. That’s not enough for 18 and 19-year- olds. They want to know whether it’s safe to kiss someone, whether it’s safe to have oral sex, whether it’s safe to hug someone with AIDS...

Meanwhile in Hamil- ton, Ontario, McMaster ‘University’s student coun- cil is backing a series of “safe sex versus no sex” ads in the campus newspaper. The announcements are be- ing forwarded to the 46

newspapers represented by Canadian University Press through its co-operatively owned advertising agency, Campus Plus.

“University © stu- dents are still very promis- cuous. It doesn’t seem that the safe sex message has been sinking in very much,”

says council vice-president Steve Longo. “We want to get a consistent message to the students.”

Longo is also setting up a week-long AIDS aware- ness campaign, with edu- cational materials, speak- ers and condom give-aways heading the list of activi- ties. a

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Thursday, September .17, 1987 == eee