The Badger Herald: Opinion: AIDS class reveals societal problems

Opinion

AIDS class reveals societal problems

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Also by Sam Clegg:

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SSFC right on; ASM muddles on as year ends (April 28, 2009)
Far left coalition shattered from Monona to Mendota (April 21, 2009)

By Sam Clegg
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 1:31 a.m.

4 Vote 0 Votes

The ravages of earth's deadliest virus have never been more apparent to myself and the other students taking Pathology 210 this semester under the direction of Dr. David Watkins and a team of dedicated researchers. The epidemic has assumed a sense of urgency in this class, even from the comfortable vantage point of a first world country far removed from the bubonic-plague level implications of AIDS that make it so disastrous in sub-Saharan Africa.

You see, this supposedly dry pathology course is officially titled HIV: Sex, Society and Science, and I can assure you that the middle two words in the title take up a healthy portion of the course load. Pathology 210 has taught its students, most of whom are not biology majors, a great deal about more than just the virus itself.

Mr. Watkins' jovial mannerisms and nostalgic reminiscing about his riotous escapades in Brazil belie the fact that he has, in fact, spent his professional life studying the human immune system, has lectured his students on the deadly virus and, simultaneously, has exposed those nasty little skeletons in the human closet that AIDS illuminates in all their embarrassing clarity.

What skeletons, exactly?

Well, as a recently dissuaded but formerly unabashed male chauvinist, I suppose the treatment of women would be a good place to start. While my instructors in Pathology 210 rapidly dismantled the cornerstone of my Dark Ages worldview — namely that the feminist school of thought was the philosophical equivalent of Satan — I realized that, against the emphatic wishes of my past self, I would eventually be writing something that mentioned, albeit in passing, the fact that AIDS clearly demonstrates that women's rights are a long way from being fully established. When a woman doesn't have control over the use of a condom during sexual intercourse, she is unwittingly thrown into a pathogenic shooting gallery that could very well cost her life, especially in Africa and Southeast Asia.

In addition to that, there is the fact that a great many people in a great many high places are denying that condom use even prevents the virus. By the way, it does.

But the point is this. HIV: Sex, Society and Science would have been more properly listed as a cross between the political science and biology departments, and this is exactly the interdisciplinary manner in which an issue as complex as the AIDS epidemic should be addressed.

Every aspect of the virus' most agonizing assault on humanity is interrelated with one or more of our innumerable societal flaws, and there has been no effort made in the class to keep the "science" and "society" aspects separate. This crossbreeding of the different characteristics of the pandemic has done two things for the students taking the course: First, it has ensured that I, an irreconcilable illiterate on the subject of pathology, do not fail.

Second, this broadened focus has also allowed students to gain an understanding of not only our deepest fears, but our deepest flaws, in addition to showing us how to confront them in a fundamentally humane and practical manner.

Giving women more rights in our society and encouraging it in the societies of others, using condoms, increasing research — all of these are steps in the right direction, and all of them are manageable.

To be sure, most literature discussing anything that causes suffering in the world winds up with an apocalyptic and horrendously generic admonition that if more funding and awareness are not aroused among the general public, some vague brand of "or else" will eradicate our beloved consumerist juggernaut society in no time at all.

However, AIDS is a virus that sheds illumination on problems infinitely more complex than its ability to sneak inside a T-cell. What is possibly most agonizing about AIDS is the fact that it is making fools of all of us, of the entire human race. When, in drunken episodes of unprotected copulation, we potentially condemn ourselves to a gallows that drags our suffering along a 10-year gamut of humiliation and fear, classes like those taught by Mr. Watkins and his fellow researchers become ever more necessary. Like all the problems wreaking their respective havocs, AIDS forces us take a look at ourselves, and so should the classes we choose to take.

Sam Clegg (sclegg@wisc.edu) is a freshman majoring in creative writing.

4 Comments | Leave a comment

Anonymous | November 7, 2007 10:38 AM | Reply
IP hash: d59c084e

Malaria is worse.

Malaria causes about 400—900 million cases of fever and approximately one to three million deaths annually — this represents at least one death every 30 seconds. The vast majority of cases occur in children under the age of 5 years; pregnant women are also especially vulnerable. Despite efforts to reduce transmission and increase treatment, there has been little change in which areas are at risk of this disease since 1992. Indeed, if the prevalence of malaria stays on its present upwards course, the death rate could double in the next twenty years. Precise statistics are unknown because many cases occur in rural areas where people do not have access to hospitals or the means to afford health care. Consequently, the majority of cases are undocumented.

Anonymous | November 7, 2007 3:41 PM | Reply
IP hash: f51c44d5

Dear Sam,

I agree with your characterization of your worldview as an artifact of the Dark Ages. I disagree, however, when you posit that your worldview has been changed by this class. This article is so convoluted and misplaced that I find it hard to believe that you will inspire anyone to join the fight against AIDS. I also once took a class once, it was interesting. Maybe I’ll write a 1000 word essay on it just for you.

Anonymous | November 8, 2007 10:05 AM | Reply
IP hash: 79ac3e5d

I doubt Mr. “Anonymous (November 7, 2007 @ 3:41pm)” that you could write a 1000 word essay about that class you took once, that you thought was interesting. You sound pretty apathetic about it. Sometimes (most of the time) it’s difficult to be passionate about college courses. I think it’s great that you were inspired enough by your education to dedicate time to writing something about it. Thanks for sharing.

Sam Clegg | November 8, 2007 2:25 PM | Reply
IP hash: f0c931bd

In response to 3:41, I would say that you are correct in stating that the article was horribly convoluted (I wasn’t proud of it myself), however I think your sarcasm on the relevance of writing about an “interesting” class is misplaced. I’ve come to realize that there are other, better qualified people writing about the issues that matter to the larger public, such as the Iraq war, the presidential election, and the budget deficit. This is my first attempt at addressing something of immediate relevance to UW students. Although I promised myself I would never engage in online arguments with people who disliked what I wrote, your criticism of the subject bothers me far more than any attack you could make on my writing. In describing a class I enjoyed, I merely offer an alternative for students pondering what their classes should be. So please be patient, and try to step down from the ivory tower of your anonymity long enough to appreciate, if not respect, the purpose of this article.

The author

ps. thanks, 10:05!