“Hidden” Danger of HIV Amongst College Students “

October 2013

 

It was at that very moment that I knew my whole life was going to change. My first thought wasn’t about my life being over, but rather what I was going to do for the rest of my life. How was I going to tell my mom? My friends? My whole life was changed and it was up to me to walk down this new path with my head held high, and to take care of myself no matter what,” said Antonio Smith. Antonio is a recent college graduate who discovered he was HIV positive during his sophomore year of college at a private St. Louis university. “I was with the person only a few times and each measure of protection was used. Not once did he inform me of his status.”

The traditional “college life” is supposed to be one of fun, late nights, meeting new people, and maybe even finding the love of your life. This was the case for Antonio until he was faced with the striking reality that HIV is a very real and imminent danger to not only himself, but many others around him.

No matter what the situation is, it is always a person’s legal responsibility to disclose to their positive HIV status to their partner. It can be very hard and sometimes embarrassing to inform someone that you are HIV-positive.

“I think that people need to talk about it. No matter how hard the conversation is to have with someone, it has to be done. That is the only way that this virus will be under control and the risk of future infection is potentially stopped in it’s tracks,” said Josh Rice, an HIV prevention counselor for Madison County AIDS Program, also known as, “MADCAP”. “Our organization is in place so that we can stop the awkward tension when discussing sex, diseases, and how to ultimately prevent them from happening. Most people know the risks and the outcomes, but still refuse to believe that it is right there in their face,” said Rice.

Connecting HIV and AIDS issues to the rest of the world seems to be no big task to many outlets of media, but one approach that Rice says will be groundbreaking is the approach and push of the issue onto college and even high school students. He feels that the issue is often times pushed much harder in the gay community than it is to the world as a whole.

“HIV is hardly just a gay person’s disease. It is also something that many straight people often forget to take into consideration when becoming sexually active.” The point being made comes from many different conversations that Rice has had with the people that come to him to get tested and even conversations among his peers on his college campus.

The greatest amount of reported infections lies within adults between the ages of 20 and 30. This is essentially the time with the greatest amount of sexual activity and freedom that an adult will experience throughout their lifetime. There is no coincidence that these statistics remain true year after year. Although the greatest risk of HIV lies within this particular age group, that does not mean that the numbers in the other age groups are not particularly high as well.

Although sexual orientation is usually the common link with the overall image of HIV in the communities, Rice said that it is of utmost importance to realize that the risk is relevant to every one of all ages, races, genders, sexuality, and social status.

When asked about the risk of HIV, Candice Dornfeld said that it is not really something that she worries about when having sex with a man. “I always worry about getting pregnant or worrying that people will think that I am some sort of easy target for sex rather than thinking I will get HIV,” said Candice. “It’s just not at the top of my list, and I’ve always heard that it’s something that gay people have to worry about a little bit more. I can’t say that I’ve never thought about it, but the concern of having a baby at the age of 22, with no steady job or boyfriend, is my main concern, to be honest.”

Candice also said that she has been sexually active since she was in high school and she has never given much thought to the idea that she could actually contract the disease.

Being a prevention counselor for the AIDS program, Josh said that he hears this explanation all too often when it comes to younger heterosexual women. “It just doesn’t seem to cross their minds, when it should cross their mind’s quite often. It’s very easy to prevent with the right knowledge and actions of the partners. Having a baby at a young age is obviously not an ideal outcome from sexual intercourse, but what about taking many different, and not to mention expensive, medications every single day just to try and stay ahead of the disease.”

With HIV being such a prominent subject in the gay community, men are often the target of prevention advertisements and are also the ones portrayed more than anyone else as having the virus. Obviously, men are not the only ones who can contract the virus, but there is also a huge gender gap when it comes to the statistics of people whom are HIV-positive.

“I have been with both men and women, and it has not been a huge worry of mine in the past, “ said Geena Sanfratello, a college student from Philadelphia. Geena spoke about being with her girlfriend and made it a point to say that they never discussed the subject after meeting one another. “It didn’t really seem to be relevant to our relationship or our conversations, so we just didn’t discuss it at all.”

Being members of the gay community, Geena mentioned that after gaining knowledge on the subject and the danger of transmission to one another, her views have changed dramatically.

“I don’t know why it was never a huge deal to me. I never had the worry of getting it, and I never knew anyone to have the disease. It seems like an invisible issue unless it is put directly in your life and in your face for you to truly understand the risks. Honestly, though, I can’t imagine what my life would be like if that were to happen to me.”

Many different medical advancements have been made over the course and history of the virus, but there is still no public access to a vaccine or to a cure. Antonio said that his medications can cost him a fortune every month, and for those patients that are uninsured, it can cost much more. “The side effects of the medication often times seems worse than what I would have to deal with if I didn’t take it. It is very important that I stay on top of my game when it comes to my health, and that has greatly impacted my social life as well as my professional life.”

Those who deal with the virus on a daily basis will say that it definitely hinders the amount of fun that they can have on weekends, time with their friends and family, and even greatly impact their career goals. One thing that Antonio feels he has missed out on was the ideal “college life” and experiences with his peers. “I can’t go out on the weekends, get drunk, and enjoy myself like all of my friends can. I have to worry about my health and my future. It’s like I can’t truly live my life,” said Antonio. HIV is something that he feels has claimed his life and his actions over the past years. That is one more thing to add to the daily thoughts and worries of people who are HIV-positive. People who are known to be positive can undergo a wide load of criticism, hatred, scrutiny, and harassment.

Antonio spoke out about those that have been by his side ever since he came out as being HIV-positive. “I have been fortunate to have people in my life there to support me. Some people don’t have that though, and finding out that they are positive is only the beginning of the rest of their troubled life. For me, I just want to be able to live a normal life of a man in his twenties instead of worrying about this hold that I have over myself when it comes to the disease.”

It can also be very hard for someone who is positive to find a job, insurance, and even a companion. “These are all factors that college students, and people in general, do not think about when they go out and have their fun. The risk is real and it is here to stay unless we act now, “ said Rice. “HIV, ultimately, cannot be stopped if one is engaging in sexual behaviors, but the risk can be reduced dramatically, and that is our number one goal.”

Antonio said that his outlook has most definitely changed over the course of the virus, but it is not going to be the end of his lifelong goals or ambitions. “My life has definitely changed, but I am at the point now where I accept it and I live my life accordingly. It does not define who I am, nor will it hinder my success. It’s not something that I can change at this moment, but I just hope that others can take away from my lessons and the lessons of many others in order to prevent further damage around the world.”

 

 

 

 

Champaign-Urbana Native Hits the Road to Fame

December 2013

 

Singing, dancing, and stage lights are in the blood of Charity Davis, a former University of Illinois Student who has recently hit the road with superstar, Selena Gomez. “It is so much fun, and I am so grateful to have had the experiences with each and every artist that I’ve worked with,” Davis said with excitement.

Charity was born and raised in the college town of Champaign-Urbana in Illinois, and was brought up around the love and joy of music. Her mother is a vocal professor at the University of Illinois, and Davis herself is a trained vocalist and pianist. “I’ve been singing, dancing, and playing all of my life. I don’t really know any different.”

Being a part of MTV’s reality show, Making His Band, going on tour with the likes of Lady GaGa, Cee Lo Green, Kesha, and now Selena Gomez, Davis has definitely gotten a taste of what the fame and fortune of the music industry can be like.

In 2009, she was given the chance to take part in Making His Band, with hopes to win the competition and hit the road as part of Diddy’s concert band.

An article published in the News-Gazette interviewed Davis during her run on the show, giving away different details about how she felt about her experiences and mentioned that she was taking a break from her English degree in order to become a star. She said that living in the house with many different personalities was a challenge, but the show went on to open many doors for her.

Although Charity made it all the way until the season finale of the show, she did not end up making the cut in order to join Diddy on the road. Instead, she was offered a much bigger opportunity with yet another very famous musician.

Davis began touring worldwide with pop superstar, Lady GaGa, on her Monster Ball tour in 2010. “It was so much fun. Amazing. Seriously.” Davis traveled with Lady GaGa for roughly seven months before her run ended and she began working on other projects.

“It was super cool to see someone that I had gone to school with, and sang in a high school choir with, on stage with the actual Lady GaGa. I remember being at the concert in St. Louis and just being so happy for her. I mean how cool is that?” Heather Lard, Davis’ longtime friend said.

In late 2012, she joined Cee Lo Green on his world tour, and shortly after that, Kesha’s world tour as a backup vocalist.

Charity has worked on her own material for awhile, but she says that she enjoys the perks and opportunities that she gets from working with already established and well-known artists in the industry. Who wouldn’t, though? You get to travel the world, perform every single night in front of thousands of crazy, screaming fans, and reap all of the benefits as you would with a regular job.

You might be surprised to know that backup vocalists receive many different benefits as you would from a traditional career, but can be paid up to about a million dollars on salary, according to an article posted on TheFader.

Many times, backup vocalists have a hard time getting the recognition that they deserve because they tend to be in the very background of the stage, but Davis said that she feels honored and very humble when it comes to the support that she receives from fans during and even after the shows.

A recent documentary series goes behind the scenes of backup singers and focuses on their dreams and aspirations as solo artists as well. The Sydney Morning Herald published a review of the documentary and also features many different angles coming from the singers that are featured, showing that they put in a lot of hard work and dedicate a lot of time to these performances as well.

Davis said that it is definitely not a walk in the park and it can be extremely difficult at times, but the experiences that she gets and the knowledge that she gains is well worth it in the end.

In between jobs, Davis says that she tends to keep herself busy in order to remain in touch with her musical dreams and aspirations as a solo artist. “Two years ago, I participated in a radio contest in my hometown and I won. It was so amazing to hear my song on the radio and to have the support from my hometown. They are the ones that keep me going and they have been there for me since day one.”

Davis moved to Las Angeles early last year in order to be closer to the scenes of stardom and the overall music industry.

“It was definitely a big move, and it was more of a personal preference to come to L.A. but the support of my family and friends really helped. I got to know quite a few people in the business and in the area from working with previous artists, so I knew that I could count on them to show me the ropes once I got there.”

“I remember her being in my high school choir class and I also used to do different local theater shows with her. It is so cool to see her doing such amazing things with her dreams. It’s definitely an inspiration to me and many others,” said longtime friend and classmate, Kendall Johnson.

Martel Jackson is another one of her longtime friends who has helped her out when it comes to her solo career. “We have done tons of choreography and show planning for her different events, and it is such an honor to work with a great friend and colleague. Whenever she has an event coming up, we are sure to get hard to work. Although I am involved in the dancing business as well, it is such an amazing feeling to see a friend go so far and to turn on the TV and she her up there with some of the most amazing artists.”

Davis has done many different things in her career, but she has also made an impact on many other people that are trying to go for the very same dream, and have given them the extra inspiration that they need. Charity’s most important piece of advice was, “Whatever you do, go for it, and be fearless.”

Charity said that she doesn’t know what is to come next in her career, or what the next big move might be, but it is sure to be fun, exciting, and most of all, musical.