Mgmt. 100 group teaches about AIDS

It wasn't the typical classroom lecture students at Benjamin Franklin High School are used to hearing. But last Wednesday, 11 Wharton freshmen gave about 150 students at the North Philadelphia school a lesson on AIDS awareness. The group, called PENNetration, organized the event for their Management 100 class. Every Wharton student must take the class, entitled Leadership and Communication in Groups, which requires them to organize and conduct a community service project. The class is divided into groups, each of which gives itself a name and approaches a different urban problem or issue. Since Philadelphia, as group member Joseph Kulkowski pointed out, is responsible for more than half the AIDS cases in Pennsylvania, PENNetration's subject was topical, if not fully appreciated by the students. Kulkowski, a Wharton freshman, gave an in-depth discussion of how HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, attacks the disease-fighting white blood cells in the human body. The talk seemed to leave most of the students a bit baffled. Wharton freshman Tristan Nery, a member of PENNetration, noted after the event that perhaps Kulkowski's speech was "not really suited to the audience." But despite the problems with the technical presentation, Wharton students said they felt the project achieved its goal. Wharton freshman Justin Chan, said the event "gave the kids a fair chance to learn about the consequences associated with the HIV virus." For example, the group introduced several performances for the students. A favorite among Franklin students was a skit relating to AIDS performed by the campus group Penn Life Sketches. Although the group had to restart due to technical difficulties, they managed to engage the audience. Humor was incorporated into the skit, which was intended to teach the students about the dangers of unprotected sex and sharing needles. Clarence Price, a student at Ben Franklin, said he "learned a lot about how you can get AIDS" from the skit. The last group, Attic, informed students about AIDS through the use of personal stories from three group members. Franklin student Jermaine Smith said he benefited a great deal from the stories, explaining that "the three people were really serious and I learned a lot." PENNetration also managed to get Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, a former U.S. congresswoman from Montgomery County, to speak to the students. While the Wharton students said they expected the Democrat to talk about AIDS awareness, she only briefly touched on the subject, instead launching into a question-and-answer session. Students took the opportunity to ask various questions about the political arena. PENNetration members were stunned at how the morning was unfolding, especially when the notorious subject of Monica Lewinsky came up. But the students from Franklin said they enjoyed Margolies-Mezvinsky's style and found her presentation interesting. Smith said he enjoyed the question-and-answer session because "it gave us a chance to decide what to talk about." Another student at Franklin, Ernest Admiral, agreed and added that the former lawmaker informed him "about what was going on in the world." Besides PENNetration, Management 100 groups participated in a variety of community service activities this semester. Other groups included "20/20," which marketed a Hospitality Coalition and held a fundraising dinner; "Optimus Prime," whose students taught inner-city youths about employability skills and the college application process; "Deezkidz," a group which held an Olympics-like event for children in a crisis treatment center; and "Los del Wharton," whose project was to teach sixth graders basic economics concepts.