By Chris Levister

Stark graphic visuals, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavored condoms and honest, frank talk about sexually transmitted disease (STDs): The conference called Project Alpha presented by the Mu Xi Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., turned the spotlight on the secret world of teen male sex.

"Wow! There's a lot more to sex and STD's than what they teach you in health class," said Redlands 17-year-old Anddrew Godinez. "I was shocked by what I didn't know.  The number of teens with STDs is shocking. You got to be careful of what you do and who you do it with." 

Area male teens got an earful during a SB conference on sexually transmitted disease. The event was sponsored by the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the March of Dimes. Dr. Ernest Levister, from the Vines Medical Society and Mu Xi Lambda local chapter president Kevin Baker were among the speakers.

"While we encourage abstinence, we know in reality teens have sex. They are having sex at 8, 9 and 10 years old. Many of these encounters result in sexually transmitted disease and unplanned pregnancies. The reality is we've got to educate them early to protect them from themselves," said Baker.   

"If you have discharge from your penis what would you do? To whom would you talk?" asked Alpha brother, physician and health columnist Ernest Levister.

"Did you know every 97 seconds a teenager gets an STD?" About 325,000 California teens will get an STD this year - enough to fill the Rose Bowl 3 _ times. By age 24, at least one in 4 sexually active people will have contracted an STD. In 1996, African American teens accounted for 78% of all cases of gonorrhea among adolescents age 15-19. The rate of gonorrhea infection was two thirds as high in Black males as it is in Black females. During the same year, African American teens accounted for 96% of all cases of syphillis among adolescents age 15-19.

Listeners roared with laughter when Levister, from the Vines Medical Society recalled, "Soldiers would come to see me complaining of a head cold - I'd start examining their head - They'd stop me and say ‘not there doc and sheepishly point - down there'."

"Trying to get this message across to teens is tricky. What you're selling is bitter medicine. Postpone sexual intercourse until you're ready for marriage. It's not what they want to hear," said Levister.

Clinical researcher and minister, Reginald Wadlington brought his son Toby from Murrieta to the conference. He says programs like Project Alpha help parents and teens face the fierce tide of cultural secrecy about sex and a prevailing mistrust of doctors among African-Americans.

"There is a very deep mistrust especially when it comes to healthcare and certain diseases. Blacks look back on the Tuskegee Experiment where Black males were infected with syphilis by the white medical researchers without their knowledge. In clinical research we see very few Blacks."

He says the message to teens must balance abstinence with contraception and safe sex. "Scripture teaches us that when you become a Christian you vow not to sin, but God knew we were going to sin so he gave us Jesus and the Bible to help educate us on the risks of sin. Like Jesus we know teens are having sex. We have a responsibility to help educate them on the risks of having sex before they are ready."

Williams says the STDs problem is further compounded by the nature of males. "Boys will be boys. They are very shy. Getting them to talk about sex or themselves can be like pulling teeth.  So for these teens to hear about sex and STDs from someone who looks like them is extremely important."

The conference, which also addressed the economic and social implication of sexually transmitted disease, was presented in partnership with the March of Dimes.

Eighteen year old Paul Davis says for him Project Alpha took having sex to a whole new level. "I'd never heard of some of those STDs. The fact that you or your partner can be walking around with an STD and not know it is out right scary. It got my attention."

Coordinator Eric Williams said Project Alpha coincides with Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity's 100-year-old mission to supply voice and vision to the struggle of African-Americans and people of color around the world.

"Alpha brothers worldwide are preserving the fabric of communities by fostering the goals and dreams of this generation of Black men, and instilling in them a system of values, ethics and respect for themselves and others," said Williams.

He admits helping young men discover their potential can prove extremely challenging.  "Yet those challenges are far less than the negative consequences of social welfare and the medical costs that we pay when "babies make babies."