Sex education could slow HIV/AIDS

Media Credit: DAVE STONE / THE EAGLE RAISING AWARENESS - Melodi Sampson (left) and Lesley Barned (right) discuss HIV/AIDS in the black community.

Accurate and comprehensive sexual education could help stop the AIDS epidemic in the black community in the United States and abroad, Women's Initiative HIV/AIDS Task Force Director Melodi Sampson said at a panel discussion Thursday.

Women's Initiative held the panel and an open forum in honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The House of Representatives will soon take up the Responsible Education About Life Act, known as the REAL Act, which advocates for comprehensive sexual education, said Lesley Barned, a senior at Howard University who works with Advocates for Youth.

"This is the most current piece of sexual education legislation," she said.

Participants in the forum also discussed the effectiveness of grassroots efforts, particularly in Africa, where World AIDS Day is a huge event. Barned said she still believes in changing the government despite the strong support of these independent movements.

"I personally like grassroot efforts and informing people, but I also believe in policy change," Barned said. "If we don't change policy, there's only so far you can go - it's like a firewall."

Panelists also discussed the difficulty of forming strong AIDS awareness campaigns.

"No one really wants to be the face of HIV," Sampson said while comparing the fight against AIDS to the fight against breast cancer. She said there is no celebrity spokesperson equivalent to Sheryl Crow or Lance Armstrong involved in an anti-AIDS campaign.

The panel and forum were the first step in attempting to inform the AU community. Women's Initiative has more AIDS awareness events planned for the upcoming month, Sampson said.

Thursday was the first time Women's Initiative teamed up with a Howard organization, and the collaboration was a success, Barned said.

"My goal was just for people to become aware of the AIDS epidemic in the world community at large, for people to decide to join the force," she said.

Ayana Jackson, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she supports the panelists' efforts to raise awareness.

"I was interested in some of the different paths we can take within the black community," she said.

Victoria Kimutchia, a sophomore in CAS, said she thought the issue was important.

"I came to help support, but it's also a touching issue for me personally," she said.

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