At the end of 2005, 40.3 million people around the world had contracted HIV/AIDS, including 17.5 million women and 2.3 million children. AIDS month, a program organized by Dean of Students Marlys Edwards and the Phillips Academy Partnership for AIDS Awareness (PAPAA) promotes knowledge and awareness of this disease among students. Originally, AIDS month focused primarily on preventing AIDS. However, as the disease is not as prevalent in the current teen generation, the goal of AIDS month has shifted towards spreading an understanding about AIDS. This year’s highlights include prominent pediatric AIDS physician Dr. Meredith Harris, who will speak about the impact of AIDS on babies and children, and the film “Born into Brothels,” directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman. “Born into Brothels” won the 2004 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The Dean of Students Office and PAPAA designed the workshops for Uppers and Seniors with the students’ interests in mind. AIDS month has a broad array of activities for students, ranging from Poetry and AIDS, AIDS in the World of Music, to an AIDS ethics course for students interested in Bioethics. There is theatre production about AIDS for students who enjoy acting, and a community service project for the altruistic. This year, all workshops are geared toward each student’s particular interests, instead of general workshops. The diversity of the workshops is aimed to grab the attention of students and engage them. Uppers and Seniors are required to attend one AIDS workshop this spring, while School Physician Dr. Richard Keller and Instructor in French Henry Wilmer will speak to Juniors and Lowers. Co-head of PAPAA Merit Webster ’06 said, “Kids at Andover hear about the AIDS crisis occasionally and see it on TV, but it’s not an everyday thing. It is a huge deal; one third of South Africans have AIDS. It really impacts our community too. Hopefully the workshops will be interesting enough for students to get involved.” “When the programs were designed, we kept in mind whether or not students would enjoy the activities. This year, the AIDS workshops have been specifically tailored to students’ interests,” said co-head of PAPAA Jess White ’07. She continued, “Students should pick workshops they really want to go to so they can get the most out of it.” AIDS month has a similar structure from last year, with slight modifications. This year, the student organization PAPAA played a larger role; last year, AIDS month was mainly the responsibility of the Dean of Students. Eminent doctor working from Haiti and a leading expert in AIDS research in third world countries Paul Farmer, spoke last year, but will not attend again. Mr. Kauffman arrived at Andover on April 5 to discuss the film. “I’d love to say that AIDS month has a huge impact on students at Andover, but obviously I can’t know for sure. We have really worked to do more this year coming up with more interesting and pertinent workshops for the students. I’m sure that the people who want to will get something out of AIDS month, and I really hope that the majority of people will,” said Webster. AIDS month began on April 5 with Ross Kauffman’s “Born into Brothels,” and will end on May 4.
