Local College Students Say HIV/AIDS is Not Part of New Student Orientation

From Kaiser Daily NPR's "Weekend Edition Sunday" recently reported on efforts to educate U.S. college students about HIV/AIDS. According to NPR, most colleges "operate on the principle that students already know about HIV."

Some students at Howard University and George Washington University in Washington, D.C, said that HIV/AIDS education is not incorporated into orientation and that they were unaware that one in every 20 people in the district is living with HIV/AIDS. At a recent speech to students at Howard, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot said that the rate of HIV in the district is higher than that in many African countries. Piot also discussed his visit several years ago with HIV-positive women in the city.

The "stories that the women were telling me there, frankly, I had never heard before," Piot said, adding, "I was so shocked that this is going on in this town."

Isabel Goldenberg, director of student health at George Washington, said the college offers workshops on sexually transmitted infections, distributes condoms and works with fraternities and sororities on HIV/AIDS education. Howard and George Washington also recruit students to serve as health educators.

In addition, CDC has designated funding for HIV/AIDS prevention at some historically black colleges, and the Black AIDS Institute recently sent 25 black college students to the district to train as HIV/AIDS advocates (Wilson, "Weekend Edition Sunday," NPR, 10/7).

Audio of the segment is available online.

August ACTION Lunch: National HIV Behavioral Surveillance

Join us for the August ACTION Lunch. Dr. Magnus Manya from the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, will give a presentation on National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS). The current NHBS study is known locally as Word Up, Washington Outreach Research Drive to Understand Prevention.

National HIV Behavioral Surveillance gathers information about individuals at high risk for HIV . This year, the Word Up study looks at heterosexuals at high risk for HIV. Other populations will be looked at in future studies. Join us to learn more. DC CARE Consortium, 1156 15th Street NW, Suite 500.

The lunch takes place Thursday, August 9th at 1:00 PM at the DC CARE Consortium, 1156 15th Street NW, Suite 500. To RSVP online, click here.

This is one lunch in a three-part series entitled 'Understanding the HIV Epidemic in DC'. To download the flyer for this series, click here.

Condom Art Day at George Washington University

Join the Save Lives: Free the Condoms Coalition for Condom Art Day!

How creative can you get with condoms?
Come find out on May 11, 2007 from 3pm-6pm
at the Foggy Bottom Metro

We look forward to seeing you there!!!

Please email sshunmugavelu@gmail.com with any questions

CondomArtDayFlier.doc

Condom Week Part 2: CVS Revises Condom Policy

Trey Watkins is modest. The second-year, gay grad student at George Washington University's School of Public Health is quick to point out that he's not solely responsible for pushing CVS/pharmacy to modify its policy of locking condoms in cabinets or behind the counter in almost half of its stores in Washington's lower-income neighborhoods to avoid theft.

"We looked at this and said it's obviously an issue," Watkins says. "Condoms are continuously being locked up and are not ... readily available, and people have to ask for them. Rather than ask [for them because] of embarrassment, they are going home and having unprotected sex."

continue reading this article at Metroweekly

Grading Local Universities on Sexual Health

Yes, we all know that the Appleseed Center is grading the DC Government on their response to HIV/AIDS in the District. It's a worthwhile effort, but as Marsha Martin of the Administration for HIV Policy and Programs has asked, who is grading the rest of the city?

Well condom manufacturer Trojan has graded to local universities on sexual health, and the results indicate we could be doing a lot more on DC campuses. The survey graded on seven categories: Web site accessibility, condom availability, contraception availability, HIV and STD testing, sexual assault services, existence of an advice column and peer outreach programs.

Georgetown earned a "D", ranking 80th out of 100 universities. Contributing to the low grade is the fact that the school does not make condoms available on campus, due to it's Catholic associations.

George Washington, on the other hand, passed with a 2.7. George Washington earned points for condom availability. Recent improvements at GW are being driven largely by the students. The GW Health Dept recently spoke at the Come Together DC: Get Screened for HIV Rally, talking about their HIV testing program.

American University was not included in the Trojan Survey, and a recent student editorial says there is a debate on campus about what score AU would have earned. American University is working towards getting HIV testing at their health center, which is a good sign. As the article states though "some students say the Health Center does not do a good enough job making its services known or explaining all options to students, and some students cite difficulty with or bad handling of efforts to obtain contraception there."

The Trojan Survey is far from perfect, but the idea is a good one. We have a lot of work ahead in DC, and we need to regularly evaluate not just the Administration for HIV Policy and Programs, but every aspect of HIV/AIDS work in the district. Now if someone would just put out a report card comparing local DC HIV/AIDS service organizations .....

GWU Student Association President Focuses on HIV/AIDS

George Washington University Student Body President Lamar Thorpe is getting serious about tackline HIV/AIDS on campus. The Daily Colonial reports that:

Last night, Thorpe announced that that beginning Oct. 1, Student Health Services will offer free HIV/AIDS testing for students.

“We must collaborate to protect the sexual, physical and mental health of GW students,” said Thorpe.

Beginning at the end of this month, Thorpe, in conjunction with the Student Life Committee, plans on providing sexual health pamphlets and condoms in freshmen residence halls every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Read the whole article Here...