AIDS humanized in photo exhibition

Today’s American society is full of major advancements in all facets of life. Considering this advanced state of living, the amount of unawareness on the individual scale is remarkable, specifically in the realm of AIDS and HIV. Drew University is doing its part to raise awareness on the subject of this life-altering disease. This week, there was a showcase of photographs by Roslyn Banish on display in The Space.  In her show, Focus on Living: Portraits of Americans with HIV and AIDS, Banish combined pictures of 16 different American citizens struggling with the infection accompanied by a short text explaining their experiences with the virus in her show. The goal of this exhibit was to educate the Drew community on the reality of HIV and the vast range of lives it touches.
“The AIDS epidemic is permeating all levels of society and all individuals in society,” Tyler Duckworth, one of the special guest speakers at this week’s HIV and AIDS panel presentation, said. Duckworth is an LGBT and HIV/AIDS activist. According to Duckworth, there are three ways to approach the AIDS virus–awareness, accountability and compassion. “You cannot change the outcome. You can only change how you treat [people with AIDS],” Duckworth said. “I have looked into the face of loneliness and isolation and its cold and it is heartbreaking. I would wish it on no one. I never thought I’d be touched by the disease and now I have many, many friends with AIDS.
“The first time I see them, I give them a big hug because I know it the first time they’ve been touched in a long while. It may sound ridiculous but it’s true,” Duckworth said.
Duckworth also delved into an explanation of the previous delusion that AIDS was for the four H’s–homosexuals, hemophiliacs, heroin addicts and Haitians. “If you were a homosexual then you deserved it and if you were a heroin addict then you really deserved it. It’s almost criminal the way it was treated for so long,” Duckworth said. “Now we’re finally looking at it as an ailment, not a curse for the cursed. It’s not something we can cure necessarily, but it’s something we are dealing with.”
According to Duckworth, it is the responsibility of every individual to change society and ultimately change how this disease is viewed. “We need to move beyond the paradigm of the white gay male dying alone and disease ridden. We need to move beyond it and turn it on its head and realize we’re all at risk,” Duckworth said.
Progress is being made, contrary to common misconceptions of the disease. “With the Protease inhibitors, fewer people are dying and more are living longer,” Dr. Terry Zealand, co-founder of the AIDS Resource Foundation for Children, said.
“It’s not 1981 anymore, its 2009. There’s no point in not getting tested. The reason to get tested is because we have treatment now,” Duckworth said. “Most of my straight friends are very well educated people, who should know better, but they have never been tested and have never asked their partner’s status on the subject,” he said. “We ignore it, deny that we’re at risk or just slough it off. Tell your straight friends to put a condom on and not be stupid. It’s our responsibility to share our knowledge and pass it down to those who don’t know.”
“People now think that getting tested will stigmatize them as gay, and it’s the same with condoms,” Dr. Michael Christensen said. Christensen is the director of the Shalom Initiative for Prophetic Leadership and Community Development and an Affiliate Associate Professor of Spirituality and Religious Studies at Drew. “‘Oh, I don’t need that because I’m not at risk.’ We need to not judge people to work on stigma reduction,” he added. “At the same time, there are behaviors which need confrontation or people will die. In Africa, there are men who think that having sex with a virgin will rid them of the disease once they’ve been infected. It’s a real tricky paradox.”
According to Zealand, despite the progress made, there have been some new cases of the negative effects of the AIDS vaccine such as kidney failure and early aging.  “People think, ‘oh there’s a cure, so it’s not that serious.’ But it is serious,” Zealand said. One thing was made clear—HIV is something that affects lives throughout the world, and it is something that absolutely no one is immune to.