Jewish students reflect on the personal side of AIDS

Twenty-five students recited in unison "I am a person living with AIDS." But not everyone in attendance at last week's informal discussion at Hillel was inflicted with the tragic disease. AIDS and HIV educator Scott Fried showed them that every individual -- whether infected or not -- must share the horrors, challenges, responsibilities and even the blessings of the disease. "We're all living with AIDS," said College freshman Jared Greenberg, who co-hosted the presentation with Fried. "It's not going to go away, so we've got to spread knowledge about it." Fried, who is HIV-positive, shared his personal story in an attempt to educate members of the University community to protect themselves. "I hope to give you the skills with which to stay alive -- literally," he said. Fried describes himself as a "nice Jewish boy from Long Island." In a relationship with "one person, for one month," he contracted HIV in December 1987. "I didn't know how to say at that time, 'how far is this going to go'?" Fried explained. "I was lacking self-respect and didn't realize that I was worthy of being treated right." Fried used his story to alter the accepted definition of safe sex -- which he said involved only physical protection during a sexual relationship. "Safe sex is feeling safe with the person you are having sex with," Fried said. "All I care about is that you protect yourself, and care about yourself and your partners. "This is not a disease of risk groups, but one of risk behavior," Fried said. "The only risk group, if there is one, is the one that thinks it can't happen to them." In contrast to the negative stereotypes and images often associated with the disease, Fried stressed the "blessing of AIDS." "There's more to AIDS than just what is portrayed in the media," Fried explained. "What's not being given to you is all the facts-- and the love, the hope, the faith." Fried compared the biblical battles between Jacob and Esau to that between the disease and those infected by it. "We need to see [AIDS] as some sort of dark angel that comes into our lives, wrestles with us," Fried said. "But when we do battle with it, we win -- and before it leaves, it blesses us." In a session they called "AIDS 101," Fried and Greenberg presented facts about the disease, corrected misconceptions and fielded questions concerned primarily with how the virus is transmitted. Fried said HIV can be transmitted only through intravenous drugs, unprotected sex, blood-to-blood contact, and mother-to-child contact. "The fluids that can infect you from someone else's body are blood, semen, vaginal secretion and breast milk," he said. College sophomore Elie Haller said the informative part of the discussion was especially important. "I'd never had any formal AIDS education before," Haller said. [Fried] was down to earth, and wasn't afraid to answer any of our questions." First-year Chemistry graduate student Erik Shapiro praised Fried's emphasis on dispelling myths about the disease. "So many people are afraid of the disease and for the wrong reasons," Shapiro said. "[Fried] really took the emphasis off of the stereotypes." Greenberg, who has received five years of AIDS peer education training, served as chairperson of THE Group, standing for Teen HIV Educators. Fried began to travel and educate with the organization, which is made up of Staten Island high school students who act as teen educators. "We've done probably close to 50 presentations together and educated close to 5,000 people together," Greenberg said. "Scott alone has probably done more than 10 times that." To close the program, Fried and Greenberg performed a duet of the song "We Live on Borrowed Time," by David Friedman, as three members of the audience read poetry written by members of THE Group. Hillel and Penn Jewish Social Workers co-sponsored the event. Social Work graduate student Naomi Sobel helped to coordinate the event with Hillel. "We are living in an age of AIDS, plain and simple," Sobel said. "There are sure-fire ways to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and what it all boils down to is love and self-respect."