Campus observes AIDS Day

Speakers cautioned students "not to mix sex and alcohol." Combining comedy with substance, AIDS educators T.J. Sullivan and Joel Goldman drove home the dangers of mixing alcohol and sex last night in a lecture commemorating World AIDS Day. The talk, "Friendship in the Age of AIDS," was sponsored by Facilitating Learning About Sexual Health to draw attention to the deadly disease, College sophomore and FLASH member Cate Swinburn said. FLASH brought Sullivan and Goldman to the University to "challenge" students' perception of AIDS as something "other people get," she added in introducing the pair during the event in the Nursing Education Building Auditorium. Goldman was diagnosed with the HIV five years ago and now travels the country with Sullivan to educate college students about the disease. "The whole funny part is what sets us apart," said Sullivan, explaining why the program is unique. The two stressed that they have similar professional middle-class backgrounds to many Penn students -- making it easier for audience members to relate to their presentation. Goldman told audience members he contracted HIV by having unsafe sex while drunk. "The biggest lesson I learned in my life was not to mix sex and alcohol," he stressed. Since making their first presentation five years ago, the two have spoken to more than 100,000 students at over 150 college campuses. Sullivan and Goldman originally met on Sullivan's first day as a freshman at Indiana University. Although Goldman was a senior and president of Sigma Alpha Mu at the time, they became friends and kept in touch even after leaving the school. A few years later, Sullivan -- who was working as an alcohol and health educator -- was preparing to leave his office on a Friday afternoon in 1992 when Goldman called him with the news that he was HIV-positive. "I had to get the hell off the phone," Sullivan explained to the audience. "How do you think you would react?" After meeting Goldman at the Washington, D.C., AIDS Quilt display a few months later, Sullivan decided to pair up with his former college friend to develop an educational program that added a comical twist to an otherwise serious topic. "We want people to leave laughing," he emphasized. To get students in a good mood, he presented his own version of a drunk student. You know that you have gone too far when you reach the "broken elevator stage," he told males in the audience. This means that "no matter what buttons you push, there ain't shit coming up," he joked about alcohol's ability to spur impotence in men. But Sullivan also reminded students to be supportive of those they know who have HIV or AIDS. "We're going to start losing our friends if we don't start caring in a very active way," he said. Many audience members said they left the program laughing at the speakers' comments but understanding the seriousness of the issue. The humor "truly opened people up to what they were saying," College junior Jason Christopher said. And College freshman Krista Saunders praised the pair for their efforts, noting that the presentation brought the issue "close to home." World AIDS Day also marked the sixth annual Day Without Art. Students cloaked the Button in front of the Van Pelt Library in black. Similar demonstrations occurred nationwide, as artistic communities sought to draw attention to AIDS' devastating impact.