Newspaper Page Text
Monday, November 11
THE MAROON TIGER
PAGE 9
Putting a Face on HIV - Yours
By Rodney Gabriel
Features Co-Editor
SCENARIO 1: The lights
are down low. Marvin, Teddy, or
Luther is crooning in the
background. Dude's roommate
won't be back for hours. And his
girl is over. In short, the mood is
set.
Inevitably, things get kinda
hot and heavy. Words of affection
and kisses (in French and other
languages, as well) are
exchanged. Emotional tides soon
come ashore, and clothes start to
shed.
All of a sudden, though, he
gets nervous and curses himself,
realizing he doesn't have a
condom anywhere in sight.
She notices his hesitation and
says, "It's all right. I'm on the
pill."
What does he do?
SCENARIO 2: You receive
an envelope in the mail. It's some
detailed , confidential survey
called "Sex in the Nineties," on
HIV and sexual behaviors. But
there's more — a complimentary
$5 bill, as an incentive for
participation.
Do you fill out the
questionnaire and mail it back?
Or do you simply discard it and
just keep the five dollars?
Dr. Sandra Taylor recalls
what many AUC students
actually did with the survey.
"Unfortunately, we did
have students not
responding," reports Dr.
Taylor, a medical sociologist
and Professor of Sociology at
Clark Atlanta University. "But
by that same token our overall
response rate was about 25
percent. Given the sensitivity
and nature of the study, that's
not bad simply because you do
not expect to have a
preponderance of the potential
sample responding, with
issues as sensitive as sexual
behaviors."
The three-year,
longitudinal study is currently
up for review by the Journal of
the American Medical
Association and looks mainly
at student attitudes,
knowledge, and behavior at
six four-year, Atlanta-area
colleges.
According to the results,
Taylor deducts that students
are pretty knowledgable about
the HIV virus and the
progression of AIDS itself.
"However," she insists, "there
is not necessarily a correlation
between between AIDS
knowledge and safer sex
behaviors."
"Students are engaging in
safer sex behaviors," adds
Taylor. "But there are still
some risky behaviors they are
practicing."
Dr. Taylor cites such risky
conduct to be continued
unprotected vaginal, anal, and
oral sex and traces the gap
between sexual responsiblity
and beliefs to the misguided
notion that "It's not gonna
happen to me."
"They think about it, but
they just don't want to think
about it," says Craig
Washington, coordinator of
the African-American
Outreach Program at AID
Atlanta. "It's not like the
thought isn't there or they
don't have the knowledge. In
terms of sexual fulfillment,
certainly, people don't do
things based on what they
know but on what we feel or
want."
AID Atlanta, a non-profit,
volunteer-based organization,
serves mainly as a catalyst for
education and advocacy. They
also provide a wide variety of
services, including case
management for AIDS victims,
free anonymous testing, and
risk reduction seminars. As an
employee of the agency,
Washington seeks to bring a
more effective sense of
awareness to the black
community.
"A lot of it has to do with
reaching those 'unofficial'
leaders — people who others
listen to ... I definitely see a
need for more real activism
among
m e
Washington
continues.
"When it
comes to thi
work, in
particular,
I've often I
seen more |
involved. I
there's some resistance to it —
to really accepting that [AIDS]
is a part of our lives for a long
time."
EDITOR'S NOTE:
For further information on AID
Atlanta’s HIV testing, call (404)
885-6800, ext. 320. Also facts on
HIV/AIDS-related information
can be found through the Center
for Disease Control's national,
24-hour hotline at (800) 342-
2437 or on their home page on the
World Wide Web at http://
www.cdc.org
a ^ Guru Smurf
4$uestions
1) How come Black folk act like it's our jump shot and not our judgment
that makes us men? 2) Isn't it easier to move forward if you're not
lookin' back? 3) What would be better if it never came, you or her
period? 4) Who's REALLY runnin' things? 5) How can there be east
and west on a round planet? 6) Why does your Friday night gear cost
more than your education? 7) They've got your back now, but who'll
be there when times are rough? 8) You know SGA is pissed about the
cover story, right? 9) Mandela or no Mandela, why were we gonna
have CULTURAL EXCHANGE with a country whose primary legacy
is apartheid? 10) How many years of my life have been lost waiting
for someone to take my order in Kilgore? 11) Why you frontin' like
you'd STILL have that
ride if daddy wasn't
payin' the insurance?
12) Is it me or is it
slightly arrogant for a DJ
to call himself Sol(e)
Messiah? 13) If Hajj can
spend 10 months in jail
and THEN be found
innocent, what makes
you think that you're safe? 14) Why is there always some disillusioned
freshman that swears he's the man? 15) When was the last time you
read for personal enjoyment? 16) W'sup with vegetarians that won't
eat food that's cooked NEXT to meat? 17) Why do five minute trips to
Kroger always take an hour and a half? 18) Can I throw a quick shout
out to HB, TC, DD, and DM, and let'em know that they're in our
prayers? 19) If Jelly, Face and Amin weren't worthy of mention in my
column, do you think I'd still have this question? 20) Are you still
sleeping?
Peeves and Gripes: What Absolutely Annoys the Hell out of Folks
By Vernando Reuben
Associate Editor
Ever wonder what really
irks people? I mean, what
would life be without
complaints, gripes, and mad
strife? No fun, right? Right.
Well, to satiate my burning
curiosity and allow students
the chance to vent bottled
grievances, I went fishing in
the shallow waters of wanna-
beez, uppiteez, and keep-it-
reals. Here's what I caught:
Everyone had issues with
the caf. If it wasn't the food, it
was the lines. If not that, then
the schedule. Many were just
plain sick and tired of chicken.
"Like damn, can't they serve
anything else?" complained an
agonized student. And for
those who eat at the Kilgore
snack bar? Very rude and
SLOW as hell. "You gotta wait
like 40 minutes for some fries
and a chicken bone," testified
an equally bothered professor.
Gender relations—I could
go on for days. One very
"smoov" brother, a local" A.T.-
alien," Phil Branch, has
qualms with sistas who don't
respond to "what'sup shawteh
red." While, practically all
"shawtehs" loathed the term
of endearment and the
southern "playas"
complimenting them with it.
Way up yonder on that
abominable totem poll of
peeves has gotta be the "high-
post" sista, and we sure have
a lot of them. Sista, believe me,
it's not that serious. How
'bout sistas, or brothas, all in
your face, intoxicating that
sacred space .. .with foul, ass-
breath? Or those females
with crusty-ass, ashy, and no
doubt funky feet, who
continue wearing sandles like
they're fly. Major turnoff. And
then there are the brothas, or
the sistas who incessantly
C*CKBLOCK and PLAYA-
HATE!
"Mad Sheistiness, that's
my pet peeve," blurted out one
student while countless
exclaim the same. "I hate
stupid people!" "Hell yeah,
and all these battyboys on
campus," commented some
card players in Kilgore. How
'bout brothas wit' supa-egos,
alter-egos, egos, and split
personalities." "[Like] the
fu*king SGA," asserted a
rather impassioned Junior,
Avatar Neil.
Other peeves included
sudden bouts of growth and
360 degree change. Like when
people suddenly "get African
on a nigguh." Yesterday they
were eating burgers and
pigfeet, and today they're
eating twigs, leaves, and
beans. Okay- fine, but don't
stare at my food. How about
these instant "microwave
Africans." Lest we forget,
brothas that are suddenly
hardcore, like they contracted
Tupac-thugeritis, knowin'
they're from East Bumblefu*k,
Podunk County, Mississippi.
Could we ever forget our
darling, "sheisty" and spicy,
Spelman step-sisters? And that
fortress of theirs. "Why you
gotta, be strip-searched and
interrogated like it's Fort
Knox?" asked one student.
"Visitation's a joke," ranted
another. Even another
disgruntled student: "You
walk on campus and [you're
made to feel] like a criminal."
"My pet peeve: Nigguhs
who leave their drawers wet in
the shower stalls," said one
disgusted dorm resident.
As evident, there is no
shortage of peeves and gripes,
at least not in this life. So
clearly, you've got problems.
What do you do? Vent them!
Let folks know you'll no
longer stand for stink breath,
playa haters, pseudo afro-
hippies, and/or neo-nigguhs
suspended in thugdom! You'll
feel so much better with
yourself.