By Sarah Chamberlin
While pre-marital sex and drug-shooting needles may be less common at BYU than other college campus, students cannot escape the reality of Aids, the number four cause of death in the world.
The campus community will join with countries worldwide today, Dec. 1, to observe World Aids Day, a day set aside to increase awareness of the disease, which kills one person every five minutes.
'People in the United States don''t know what''s happening worldwide,' said Leota Pearson, donor relations coordinator for the Utah Aids Foundation. 'It''s wiping out generations of people. And the thing that''s really frustrating is that HIV is preventable. It''s unfortunate that this many people are going to die of a disease that''s preventable.'
The HIV virus infects more than 42 million men, women and children. Last year alone, five million people were infected with Aids and three million died of it.
'People here think if you don''t talk about things it''s going to go away, but it''s not,' Pearson said. 'We just need to tell the truth.'
As part of World Aids Day, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars is sponsoring a short lecture and discussion scheduled to take place at 11 a.m. in 3211 of the Wilkinson Student Center.
'There are a lot of people who are ignorant,' said Ryan Peterson, vice president of the BYU chapter of NSCS, and a senior majoring in microbiology. 'They don''t have friends who have HIV. They don''t know people who''ve died of Aids.'
Last summer, Peterson traveled to South Africa where more than 25 percent of the population is infected with Aids.
'I don''t think ignorance is bliss,' Peterson said. 'Knowing what the rest of the world is dealing with and being compassionate is an important part of living life.'
Peterson said he does not think BYU students purposefully discriminate against people with HIV,
'Sometimes since we don''t have to deal with it, we just don''t think about it,' Peterson said. 'People say, ''oh, just keep the law of chastity.'' It''s a touchy subject.'
Aids is not restricted to African countries or places such as Russia and China where a problem has recently been acknowledged. The Utah Aids Foundation serves people who have Aids across the state - from Price to Provo to Logan.
'It''s happening here,' Pearson said. 'We have the information in the United States and Utah, and people are still becoming infected.'
Even though HIV has been widely recognized since the 80s, Pearson said people should not become complacent.
'People are still losing members of their families to this disease,' Pearson said. 'These are people that could make a difference in society, create music, and work. It''s a real cross section of society that we''re losing.'
Keith Crandall, an associate professor of microbiology and molecular biology, has spent about 10 years researching the HIV virus and AIDS disease.
'There certainly has been a stigma because it was first identified in homosexual populations,' Crandall said. 'But that''s not the case anymore and people are ill-informed about that. It''s a heterosexual disease that we all need to worry about. If nothing else, it''s affecting your pocketbook because we''re putting out a lot of money to research it.'
Crandall expressed the frustration he shares with colleagues and student researchers who are trying to find a solution to the Aids pandemic.
'The drug therapies aren''t working; the vaccines aren''t working,' Crandall said. 'It certainly presents a unique challenge to biologists.'
Following a decade of research, Crandall has come to some conclusions.
'I think the best tool we have against HIV seems to be behavior modifications,' Crandall said. 'Barring that, the drug therapy seems to be effective at extending lives, not at eradicating the disease. I suppose it will be a long slow struggle with minor successes. I don''t see any major advances in the near future.'
According to Pearson, the infection rate for Aids is going up in people of color, women, youth and especially gay men.
'People should quit taking fidelity for granted,' Pearson said. 'Conversations about HIV need to happen and that''s a personal thing. You can''t just make assumptions about your partner. If it''s silent, it''s going to stay silent. This is about our health. This is about our lives.'
Having HIV can be extremely taxing to individuals and families because of the high cost of medications. Some organizations seek to offset these expenses by setting up donation funds.
Pearson said the LDS church has had alliances with the Utah Aids Foundation in the past, helping people get necessary food and clothing items.
'The church''s humanitarian efforts are geographically broad in scope, seeking to relieve suffering wherever and however we are best able,' said Coke Newell, manager of media relations for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Pearson offered suggestions for people who want to help combat the Aids disease.
'They need to open their eyes to it,' Pearson said. 'You can donate money, you can donate food, but I think the biggest thing is to talk about it.'
The NSCS made 3000 red ribbons for students to wear on World Aids Day. In addition to sponsoring the campus lecture and discussion, they will also have a booth set up.
'We want them to be aware that HIV doesn''t discriminate between who it infects and who it doesn''t,' Peterson said. 'Why should we?'