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“I became infected through unpro- ' tected sex with an intravenous drug user,” Alexander responded. “So I had ' to contact all my previous sexual part- “ners. There are two ways of doing " this...anonymously through Health and Welfare or personally. I chose to do it ‘ anonymously and it turns out that except for the innavenous drug user, none of ., my other past panners are infected.” Honest answers from man facing death from AIDS (Continued from page 4) seconds of silence, but men came some very mature, concerned questions. 2‘How did you become infected,” asked one student. “I think I’m more afraid of the pro- cess of dying, of having people watch _me get sick,” he answered. “Theme will V Anotfier student asked, “Did you lose any fiiends when you told them?” “When I first told everyone, I lost my best friend," replied Alexander. “At first, I was upset and angry because I thought he was afraid of the disease. But we’ve become friends again and I’ve found out that his fear was watching me get sick and having to deal with watch- ing me die.” 7 The question,- “Are you afraid to die?” evoked an emotional response from Alexander. Inc a time when I have to say goodbye to a lot of people including my son." “His presentation was touching and gave us more of an understanding of how to react when people have AIDS,” said Sonia Pettigrew, a Grade 12 stu- The room became silent as Alexander struggled to contain his emo- tions before he could continue. “AIDS is not something to be scared of,” said Nadia Monison, an OAC stuâ€" dent. “We leamed you can’t get it just by - Burners 0 Cooking Grills , ,. - Propane Cylinder -- Ignition System ' Please act now before it’s toolate * No Olfigation * touching. It made us think and rein- forced the fact that you always have to be careful.” Heather Bulick â€" an OAC student involved in organizing this presentation â€" believes Alexander’s talk was “good for students because Rob is such an open person. He didn’t cut any comers and he was very effective. And he made it personable by allowing questions.” Alexander’s talk was one part of the activities planned at this school for AIDS Awareness Week There was also a Healthy Sexuality Fair which was designed to teach students through games and demonstrations to think about their actions before going through with them “We want these kids to understand that their actions when they’re 14 or 15 could come back to haunt them,” explained Heather Link, head of Arts and Information Services at General Brock School in Burlington. Some of the games included an AIDS roulette which rewards kids for answering questions about AIDS cor- rectly, a myths and realities game about sexual assault, and a question and answer board covering sexually trans- mitted diseases. Public health nurses operated these games and answered questions which made the experience less threatening for students who would be less inclined to be honest with teach- ers or parents. Although AIDS is not as prominent here in Oakville as it is in larger cities like Toronto, it does exist. The latest statistics show that as of September, there were I46 cumulative cases of AIDS and HIV in the Halton region. Some of these people have died. This does not include those who are HIV- positive and don’t know, or those who have tested anonymously outside this region. Alexander wrapped up his muta- tion with a poem which summed up his feelings and hopes for the future â€" Only by healing can we be healed, Onlybylovingean webeloved, Onlybycafingcan webeeamdfor; Only by reaching out, can we be touched. If you have questions onconcerns about HIV or AIDS, contact the Halton Regional Health Department AIDS Program at 825622. a '190 ‘Kvpna st