Hawken Junior Organizes Educational Forum About HIV, AIDS

Hawken junior Aaron Kohn recently assembled a panel of professors and medical experts to address the Upper School in a forum about the HIV epidemic that was moderated by Dan Moulthrop, of 90.3 WCPN.

Kohn said the event was an attempt to raise awareness the school's Upper School population about the plight of millions around the globe affected by the virus.

"...The AIDS concern in the world, which developed in the 1980s, was before the current student body's time, and…students at Hawken feel very 'innocent' and secure as most Americans do about things like HIV, which aren’t very visible in the developed world," he.

The panel of experts that Kohn invited to be a part of the forum will address student concerns, dispel myths as well as enlighten them about the ravages of HIV and AIDS, particularly in Africa. Those who were a part of the event were John Holm, Professor Emeritus at Cleveland State University and Director of International Education and Partnerships at the University of Botswana; Janet McGrath, Ph.D. Professor and Director of Graduate Programs in the Department of Anthropology at Case Western Reserve University, who specializes in HIV in Uganda; Dr. Gopal Yadavalli, Infectious Disease Physician at CWRU; and one of Yadavalli’s patients, who is infected with HIV.

"With the daily concerns of our lives and with the accumulation of new news it is far too easy to let HIV/AIDS education and knowledge slip from our view," said Upper School Director J. Ross Peters.

"Thanks to people like...Aaron..., who has gone the extra mile in organizing this event, we express Hawken's determination to keep education regarding HIV/AIDS in the forefront of our thinking about our world and the challenges it faces."

Visit "Recent Galleries" here in HawkNet to view a clip of the event.  Click here to listen to the program in its entirety.