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BET Forum Gets Kids Talking About HIV/AIDS

April 11, 2007 — While looking for new campus activities for students, Charlotte Amalie High School senior Kerish Robles stumbled over some advertisements for Black Entertainment Television's "Rap It Up" forum — a national campaign designed to teach teens about the importance of HIV/AIDS prevention — and decided it was time to bring the event to the territory.
"We do learn about these diseases in school from teachers and people from the Department of Health," Robles explained on Wednesday. "But sometimes we get a little bored and don't know how to relate to the information. When I saw the Rap It Up ads on BET, I got curious and called the network. I said, 'Hey, why not — let's bring it to CAHS.'"
A volunteer with the local chapter of the American Red Cross, Robles was able to get the organization to sponsor the event, bringing several BET representatives, and even a couple of celebrities, to Charlotte Amalie on Wednesday. Assembled on stage, a panel of speakers — including R&B artist Sammie and comedian Joe Clair — spent about two hours giving students the facts about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, then fielded a barrage of questions from the audience.
Panelists also included representatives from the local Department of Health, along with two CAHS students randomly picked before the event. Denise Stokes, a spokeswoman for the Rap It Up campaign, also spoke extensively with those in attendance, offering several life lessons and important pieces of information garnered over the course of her 25-year battle with HIV.
The school's auditorium was packed for the event, with half of the student body, along with teachers, administrators and even a few government officials, filling every seat. Latecomers were limited to standing room only, lining up along walls or crouching in corners close to the stage.
The conversation throughout the morning was lively and honest, with both speakers and students painting a realistic picture of teen life within the territory. "Looking around the audience, I see about half of you are young African-American or Latina women," said Department of Health representative Taetia Phillips- Dorsett. "I'll be honest with you guys, these are the two populations with the highest incidences of HIV and AIDS. This is where the numbers are climbing."
Later in the morning, Phillips-Dorsett said that individuals within the territory often do not get tested for the disease — afraid of being discriminated against by the community. "The worst case I've ever seen is a six-month-old baby who died of AIDS," she said. "The mother had the disease, but for a long time, she refused treatment because she didn't want anyone to know — even the father of the child."
In response, several students asked panelists how they can protect themselves if they don't know their partners have the disease. "Kids are kids, so we're going to have sex regardless," one student said. "But what can we do if we don't know who's infected?"
While students pressed panelists for some specific statistics — many wanted to know how many individuals at CAHS are HIV-positive — Stokes said that teens should keep themselves protected each time they engage in sexual activity.
"As a universal precaution, assume that everyone in this room has HIV," she said.
Stokes was able to relate to students by discussing her own story — a 25-year battle with HIV that began after Stokes had sex for the first time. "I was 13 years old," she said after the event. "And the purpose of telling students about this is so they can accept the fact that anyone can contract the disease. I know — this is my life. It's very real for me."
Stokes added that she uses her own experiences to "break down barriers" with students throughout the nation and begin the discussion about the importance of HIV/AIDS prevention. "Young people are really hungry for this information," she said. "And we want a forum in place for them to begin the conversation."
"We want to keep messages of prevention, awareness and protection in our schools," added Sonya Lockett, BET's vice president of public affairs. "I think Rap It Up is a catalyst for that, for bringing the discussion back into the classrooms. And we're very pleased that we were able to do that here — all because one of the students called us and asked if we could come to the Virgin Islands. That really shows that young people do have power and are thinking about these important issues."
Lockett explained that in 1998 BET launched a sexual health campaign that two years later transformed into the Rap It Up forum, which primarily focuses on HIV/AIDS prevention. The network also airs a series of public service announcements and documentaries on the topic and launched a screenplay competition three years ago for individuals who are willing to share their own stories and experiences with the disease.
"What's great about this, though, is that we get a lot of student participation," Stokes said. "It's not just about a panel of us talking — it's about hearing what the students have to say about the decision-making process and how having sex will affect them."
The "Rap It Up" forum, which began on Tuesday at Ivanna Eudora Kean High School, will continue at CAHS on Thursday.
For more information, call Pat Odoms with the American Red Cross at 774-0375, ext. 113.

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