Listening to someone talk about AIDS in a classroom is one way
to learn about the condition.
Looking a person in the eye who lives with an affliction that,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a
leading cause of death in American adults is a very different kind
of education.
UCLA molecular, cell and developmental biology Professor Roger
Bohman has been teaching “MCD Bio 40: AIDS and other Sexually
Transmitted Diseases” for more than 15 years, and has
facilitated out-of-class interaction by making community service a
class requirement for his students.
“It was and continues to be my opinion that an academic
experience is much different from a real world one,” Bohman
said.
Created in 1984, the class was the first college course ever to
deal with AIDS, an immunodeficiency first documented three years
earlier at the UCLA Medical Center. It started as an undergraduate
seminar and was converted to a four-unit life science general
education course when Bohman took over the next year.
The class is popular and notorious for being an easy GE that
attracts athletes by the dozen, leading the course to be
affectionately nicknamed “AIDS for Jocks” by Bohman
himself.
Bohman said many are surprised at the class’s difficulty,
as a majority of students looking to skate by end up with Cs by
quarter’s end. He added that the class is not about grades to
him, but more about providing a true understanding of the
debilitating condition through learning both in and out of the
classroom.
To pass the class, students previously either had to write a
paper or volunteer for six hours at a community service agencies
that benefits AIDS victims.
This year, Bohman’s emphasis on helping the AIDS community
in Los Angeles is more evident than ever, as the class was
converted to five units after he increased the minimum community
service requirement to 10 hours.
Students have the opportunity to volunteer at a variety of
centers such as Pets Are Wonderful Support (P.A.W.S.) Los Angeles,
which provides a variety of pet services to pet owners with AIDS,
including food delivery and veterinary care.
One of the more popular organizations ““ and a personal
favorite of the professor’s ““ is Project Angel Food, a
center based in Hollywood that cooks and delivers meals to L.A.
community members living with AIDS.
“When they knock on the door, they know someone coming to
the door is infected with (the disease),” Bohman said, adding
that he has received many letters from students telling him how
frightening the experience was for them.
“I’ve only heard positive things about all the UCLA
students who have come through,” said Project Angel Food
volunteer coordinator Michelle DeSantiago.
Fourth-year history student Joshua Abel volunteered for Project
Chicken Soup, an organization similar to Angel Food, and said he
shook the hands of everyone he delivered to but said he
“can’t say the thought didn’t cross (his)
mind” that that person was infected with a deadly virus.
Bohman found 27,000 students have taken his classes, which
translates to a great deal of hours in the community, he said.
Second-year psychology student Joseph Speranzo was initially
reluctant to sacrifice 10 hours of time for Bohman’s
class.
“Obviously, it’s for a good cause but your first
reaction is, “˜That’s 10 hours of your time,’
especially with a lot of other busy things in your life,”
Speranzo said.
Despite his reservations, Speranzo worked at a food kitchen and
helped raise money for AIDS patients through Dance Marathon. He
said the experience was very self-gratifying once he was out in the
field.
“It gives you real life experience in something to give
you a different perspective on the course. You’re not just
dealing with paperwork; you’re dealing with something
that’s very real,” Abel said.