Introduction and Philosophical Overview AIDES

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), virtually unknown twenty years ago, has become a leading cause of death among America’s largest minority groups. In less than two decades the AIDS pandemic has reached such levels among African Americans that it is silently stealing the next generation. The pattern of infection and disease within minority communities clearly indicates that colleges and universities have a role and responsibility to address the concerns of students from these communities.
Even though African Americans comprised only 12 percent of the total United States population in 2000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that of the more than 700,000 AIDS cases reported through 1999, African Americans accounted for:
• 30 percent of all reported acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) cases in the United States. While the total number of reported AIDS cases historically has been highest among whites, racial/ethnic minority groups in the United States have always been overly represented in proportion to population size, and the numbers continue growing.

• Racial and ethnic disparities in AIDS incidence are more striking for women and children than they are for men:

• Of adult and adolescent blacks reported with AIDS in the United States, 21 percent are female. In comparison, among the general U.S. adult/adolescent population, 12 percent of people reported with AIDS cases are female.

• Six of every ten U.S. children with parentally acquired AIDS are black. More than 2,500 AIDS cases have been reported among black U.S. children under the age of 13, and 95 percent of them acquired HIV infection from their mothers during pregnancy or at birth.
The data on STD/HIV infection unequivocally show the youthful trend in the STD/HIV and AIDS pandemic, with the consequences for women much more serious than for men. The diversity within the African American community is considerable and one must be mindful of internal differences as well as broad similarities. The academic community has a responsibility to students from these communities.
The dramatic rise in STD/HIV and AIDS in the academy and the African American community, along with heightened knowledge of the disease and fears of infection, have created a critical opportunity for the academy. The conditions are very favorable for programs that will promote healthy behavior and STD/HIV and AIDS prevention among students. However, creating effective programs will require leadership that has a clear vision and an extraordinary level of sensitivity and understanding.
Cooperative programs can be built with administration, faculty, students and external communities. The fear of stigma can be overcome and the code of silence broken through thoughtful strategies that are centered in the campus environment. The profound need as well as the community desires, make this an opportunity that should not be missed.
In these efforts all of the educational materials must be carefully designed and tailored for the specific African American on campus, with an intuitive sense of the stigma as well as racialized context of the programs. When such understanding is present it will contribute to a vigorous response by students. Lack of such understanding can lead to more obstacles and barriers.

Developing Prevention Approaches on a University Campus
Campus programs that reach out to African Americans must be fully cognizant of the social and cultural contexts of the groups and combine that knowledge with an awareness of the internal heterogeneity of each group. Such programs must also reflect the unique culture and structure of the institution. These emphases mean that student affairs professionals face daunting challenges as they endeavor to deal with one of the most critical issues facing the African American communities.

The most effective and sustained campus-based STD/HIV and AIDS prevention programs must be integrated into the entire campus through partnerships between Student Affairs, campus constituencies and community organizations. These partnerships can be developed in a variety of venues including:
• Community organizations -- Within the surrounding communities, such organizations as the, the American Red Cross; RAIN (Regional Aids Interfaith Network) The office of Minority Health for the State of Missouri; to only mention a few are promoting heightened emphases on STD/HIV and AIDS knowledge and prevention. Campus professionals can build coalitions with such groups in planning programs for students. The result can be greater access of the academy to the general community as well as stronger campus programs.

• Greek organizations -- Delta Sigma Theta, an African American sorority, has made STD/HIV and AIDS prevention a central issue. In addition, members of the fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha have expressed both a local and national concern. Both organizations at a national level are provide seminars and workshops on STD/HIV and AIDS prevention.

• Women student groups -- Awareness of the rapid spread of STD/HIV and AIDS has heightened the concerns of women about the possibility of infection. Programs that not only educate, but also empower women students will have a broad impact on the campus.

Approach
There has been an increasing awareness in the health professions that many of the major health issues facing college students stem from lifestyle choices and behaviors, such as diet and exercise, consumption of alcohol and other drugs, and in this case unsafe sexual practices. This awareness has led to a greater focus on prevention efforts as a means for insuring good health. Prevention efforts are generally much less expensive than providing treatment later.
Young adults are at the center of the STD/HIV /AIDS epidemic. The extent to which the services and information they receive, their behavior can help determine the quality of life of millions of people. Young adults are particularly susceptible to HIV infection. In the African American community, AIDS is shattering there opportunities for healthy adult lives. Nevertheless, it is young adults who offer the greatest hope for changing the course of the epidemic. More than half of those newly infected with STD/HIV and AIDS are 15 to 24 years old, making young adults an essential focus of any HIV prevention efforts. We must also in a meaningful manner engage them in the fight against STD/HIV /AIDS.
Many prevention efforts in colleges and universities integrate peer involvement. In there "Bridges to Healthy Communities" for example: College service learning activities involve peer education programs to encourage students to adopt healthier lifestyles. Peer’s providing information about STD/HIV /AIDS is the focus of this project. TV is a powerful educational tools and this project will utilize it to expose students to the reality of STD/HIV and AIDS. Community outreach and service-learning are two ways in which students can be educated about this issues.
By moving into more intensive and integrated efforts for health promotion such as peer education, and service learning opportunities, we are attempting to incorporate peer education as a focus of our programming efforts.














Building Community Coalition

(Wesley Foundation, Lincoln University, American Red Cross and the
Office of Minority Health for the State of Missouri).
The purpose of this project is to develop a coordinated community response to STD/HIV and AIDS. The Coalition will fosters collaboration among service providers, the church and university students in assessing and prioritizing unmet needs, sharing resources, and developing strategies for HIV prevention through the use of a video production, Conversation With An At-Risk Population.
The basic goal of the program is to:
• To promote healthy behaviors among college students -- including the reduction in risk-behaviors related to STD/HIV and AIDS.

• To promote knowledge about testing for STD/HIV and AIDS and information about treatment for students who may be positive.


• Campus professionals are very likely to encounter resistance or resentment from students who fear being stigmatized by negative connotations of race and substance abuse as well as suspicions they may be potential carriers of a dreaded disease.

• To promote strong ties to African American students through full disclosure and effective communication.


• To prevent the spread of STD/HIV infection.

• To reach at risk populations identifying at risk populations and effective strategies for HIV prevention.

• To promotes an effective strategy for reaching underserved African Americans university students, with prevention education.

• To provide a forum in which students can work together to maximize the use of scarce resources to address the complex prevention issues and needs surrounding STD/HIV /AIDS.























Aids on Campus: Conversation With An at-Risk Population
“Aids on Campus: Conversation With an at-Risk Populatio” was made possible by a Grant from the Office of Minority Health, State of Missouri for Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of Aids March 2-8, 2003. “Aids on Campus: Conversation With an at-Risk Population” is a production of the Wesley Foundation @ Lincoln University and was filmed on the campus of Lincoln University in the Inman E. Page Library. If you would like a copy of this program you can call us at the 573-636-9680 or visit the Wesley Foundation 805 Atchison Court, Jefferson City, Missouri 65109.

Concept Creator: Reverend Alan L. Joplin, Director Wesley Foundation@Lincoln University
Jefferson City, Missouri 65109

Dr. Violet Kanonuhwa, Grant Contact/Office of Minority Health, Jefferson City, Missouri

Elizabeth Miller, Program Host, Aids on Campus: Conversation With an at-Risk Population.
RAIN Regional Aids Interfaith Network and the American Red Cross, Columbia, Missouri

Larry Thomas, Cameraman/Department of Health/State of Missouri, Jefferson City, Missouri

Mr. Jon Huffman, Education Major/Lincoln University For his work
on the back ground music and the out-tro.

Mr. Dan Turner, Communications Coordinator KJLU, Smooth
Jazz 88.9 Radio for Introduction Voice over.

Student Participants

Shara Kennedy, Student Lincoln University 230-9808
Darryl B. Manning, Student Lincoln University 638-6495
Jameel R. Malone, Student Lincoln University
Stephanie R. Price, Student Lincoln University 638-6396
Tanisha O’Neal, Student Lincoln University 636-9656
Kristin Turner, Student Lincoln University 636-6328
Marcio Jackson, Student Lincoln University 638-6618
DaSha Wade, Student Lincoln University 638-6334

Special Thanks to:

Ms. Constance Williams, Vice President for Student Swevices/Lincoln University
Ms. Elizabeth Wilson, Director Inman Page Library/Lincoln University
Ms. Benicia Williams Director Student Activities/Lincoln University

Dr. Steven Meredith, Chairman Biohazard and Environmental Safity and Protection
of Human and Aminal Subjects Committee/Lincoln University.

Dr. Kurt Debord, Chairman Human Subjects Committee/Lincoln University