Queens-Area High School Students Reach Out to Peers with
an AIDS Conference of Their Own
by Chael Needle
The Queensborough Community College’s student union, a
high-windowed hall darkened by rain, is as loud as a lunchroom.
Teeming with students from Queens, New York-area high schools,
they are here for the second Annual Teens to Teens HIV/AIDS
Awareness Conference. They chat as they munch on bagels
and drift from table to table where pamphlets on sexual
health and reps from local health agencies are waiting
for them. Laughter erupts in little cliques. Separated
friends shout across the empty chairs set up in front of
a stage. They—like the teenaged peer counselors from the
John Bowne (Flushing) and Benjamin Cardozo (Bayside) High
SPARK programs who helped organize the conference—are here
to make a little noise.
SPARK, which stands for Substance Abuse Prevention And
Related Knowledge, has outgrown its acronym to include
many more prevention topics (AIDS, gang violence) as well
as provide peer counseling and education on a variety of
topics teens may face in their everyday lives (bereavement,
peer pressure, high school-to-college or -military transitions).
Presently, it’s been renamed Youth Development by the Department
of Education, but its core mission has remained the same
at the two ethnically diverse, lower-middle to middle class
schools.
It’s easy to see how the conference reflects this mission.
Two guest speakers have been brought in to talk about living
with HIV, spinning tales about stigma and self-empowerment,
and a teen drama group from Brooklyn pack a lifetime of
experience and hip-hop “flava” into scenes of violence,
rejection, love, and hope. The audience throughout is expressive—whoops
of identification, and small bouts of crying, are frequent.
Even the hushed moments are audible.
Then, the conference scatters into workshops, with students
teaching other students about proper condom use, sexual
orientation and rights, pregnancy, and, of course, HIV/AIDS.
They engage the other students in a dialogue about both
facts and experiences. They know their stuff, too, having
researched their topics with the help of their advisors,
Hal Eisenberg, a CSW Intervention Specialist and SPARK/Youth
Development Coordinator at Benjamin Cardozo, and Christine
Gerstner, a Prevention Specialist and also a Coordinator
at John Bowne.
After the conference, the students reflect on their bulls-eyes
and missteps with an eye toward the next conference. More
about LGBT issues, someone suggests. Expand the conference
to more than one day. Include more boroughs.
Feedback from attendees has been overwhelmingly positive,
Hal says, offering a typical response: “‘I can’t believe
other students know this and were teaching it to us.’” The
conference, Hal notes, is a lesson in self-empowerment
and the power of many to make a difference. Attendees have
also expressed a need for more of these types of workshops. “I
think people realize that the mandated classes that the
Board of Education requires just don’t work for everyone,” says
Parita Patel, another founder of the conference and herself
experienced in peer and AIDS outreach through her work
as a teenager at places like APICHA (Asian & Pacific
Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS). “They’re put toward the
end of school when not everyone is going to class, or they’re
put at a time when no one really cares. They’re run by
kids who don’t know what they’re doing.”
The respective schools and communities have been supportive
as well, Hal says. Adult feedback, Parita shares, has also
generally been positive; she notes, however, that sometimes
adults haven’t truly believed that the students could pull
this off, an attitude that “pushes you down a little bit.” Rising
to the challenge, though, seems to be a badge of honor
among the conference organizers. Last year, the conference
had to turn away some schools because of its limited space,
and more funding is needed, but the energy and commitment
of its organizers prevails.
After witnessing an uptick in the use and success of peer
education in community after-school programs and beacon
centers in Bayside, says Hal, “about two to three years
ago, we started to realize the strength behind students
helping other students.” Peer education is effective because
of the trust developed when one student talks to another
about sensitive issues that aren’t openly broached by the
adults in their lives, or broached in judgmental or sanitized
ways. Parita thinks, though, that it’s a misconception
that an adult-youth dialogue is a dead end: “I think [adults]
don’t realize that sometimes when they talk to us, we do
listen....Adults can sit there and tell you everything
but you just won’t listen until you get someone your own
age with problems or experience telling you not to go down
that road.”
This information is needed. Both Hal and Christine have
been surprised to find that many teens do not have the
basic facts about sexual health. Christine, who as part
of her job conducts five-class workshops, says, “I think
our students are severely misinformed. When I go into a
senior health class and kids are telling me that the birth
control pill can protect them from STDs, I’m mortified.
Students have to take one class of health in high school,
but one week on safe sex in four years is not enough.” The
peer counseling programs can go into much more detail and
allow for more flexibility than the traditional sex-ed
curricula. It’s an ongoing way to stamp out misconceptions
about sex and STDS. Parita says that one significant misconception
is that “a lot of people don’t realize that we are actually
worried about it. A lot of adults don’t realize that we
care about things like this. Or realize that we’re willing
to work to educate [others]. We had fifty kids from both
schools working together to put together this conference—that
shows caring in itself.”
The next conference is tentatively scheduled for May 21.
And Hal and Parita are busy trying to launch a community-based
non-profit called Windows of Opportunity, a much-needed
teen drop-in center offering counseling, educational and
health resources, and support groups in Bayside, and, potentially,
all of Queens County.
No matter what form teen peer counseling takes, the key
for Hal Eisenberg is “moving forward with a lot of heart
and soul and passion. I think we put that emotional piece
into everything we do. Every time we counsel a student,
every time we teach information, it’s not just with facts
but with our heart and soul. And I’m glad the students
are sharing that with other students.”
*
Teens to Teens
Student Organizers at Ben Cardozo and John Bowne High
Schools Speak Out About Why They’re Reaching Out
“I feel that, although I am only one person, I can make
a difference. If one student decides the next time he or
she has sex (oral, anal, vaginal intercourse, etc.) to
be protected then I know I may have saved his or her life.”
—Danny Davids, Class of 2003 (Cardozo),
Peer Leader/Health Fair Leader
“I will participate in the conference for the first time
because I want to contribute (and be a role model) toward
young teens in their dealings with their sexual frustrations.”
—Tracey Smith, Class of 2004
Peer Leader/Conference Presenter
“I think that young people today think that they’re invincible,
but the conference showed teens that they can get HIV/AIDS
just like anyone else and that they are vulnerable to diseases,
too. If teens learned how to protect themselves and learn
the risks then they can have less of a chance of getting
sick in the future.”
—Sabrina Carollo, Class of 2003 (Cardozo),
Peer Leader/Health Fair Leader, Workshop Researcher and
Administrator
“I participated because the conference is a good experience
and it sounded interesting.”
—Katherine Garcia, Class of 2006 (Bowne)
Peer Leader/Conference Assistant
“I participated in the conference because I knew it would
be a good experience for me. Not only for me, but for my
peers. Many get involved with sexual intercourse but they
don’t know what they are getting themselves into. They
need to know all the consequences of their choices.”
—Asia Johnson, Class of 2005 (Bowne), Peer Leader/HIV
411 Workshop
“I want to participate in the conference because I want
to be informed, and, in the process, inform others. Young
people face pressure from society, in thinking that everybody
is having sex.”
—Marlene Garcia, Class of 2004 (Bowne)
Peer Leader/Conference Presenter
“I participated for two reasons. Number one: I did it
last year and it was so awesome. Number two: I like to
help and inform people about HIV/AIDS.”
—Marissa Baldanza, Class of 2003 (Cardozo),
Peer Leader/Health Fair Leader, Know Your Rights Workshop
“I participated because I felt as though more kids our
age needed to be aware of the consequences of having unprotected
sex. I think many teens are afraid to ask for help or information
because they are afraid they might not fit in or not be ‘cool.’ This
misinterpretation leads young teens to have unprotected
sex. Peer pressure is a common factor that affects teens.”
—Tania Lonie, Class of 2004 (Bowne),
Peer Leader/Conference Liaison
“The only challenge young people face in becoming aware
of sexual health is looking. All the information you can
possibly need is at our fingertips. With the breakthrough
of the Internet, tons of information is given away to us.
The one true challenge is making people aware that the
answer is out there. You just have to find it.”
—Wilmer Diaz, Class of 2004 (Bowne),
Peer Leader/HIV 411 Workshop Presenter
“Before I got involved in SPARK I really did not think
that HIV or any other STD could ever affect me personally
or anyone I knew, but the reality of that is it can affect
me and the people I know and it can destroy us. This is
why I think it is absolutely important that people everywhere
become more aware about HIV/AIDS and safe sex.”
—Michael Persico, Class of 2005 (Cardozo),
Peer Leader/Safe Sex Workshop Coordinator
“Most young people are actually embarrassed to go to anyone
for information. And a lot of the times they do not know
who to go to for help. I want to inform my peers of anything
they do. And help prevent any unplanned actions.”
—Christian Cardona, Class of 2005 (Bowne),
Peer Leader/Conference Presenter
“Young people should be aware of the risks of sexual intercourse.
It’s important for them to be aware—to prevent things like
pregnancy, STDs, and HIV.”
—Patrycia Jamiolkowska, Class of 2006 (Bowne)
Peer Leader/Conference Assistant
“I am going to participate because it is very beneficial
for a teenager transitioning into adulthood to be aware
of all the negativities sexual intercourse could spark.
Some fears young people face are the fears we hold inside
that possibly our families will find out that we are sexually
active.”
—Anthony Kabir, Class of 2005 (Bowne)
“I will participate because people (especially teenagers)
need to be aware of proper sexual actions and precautions.
Teens should be able and comfortable to talk about sex.
This conference will help me to help others and expand
my knowledge of sexual health. Challenges that young
people face in becoming aware of sexual health issues include
society and social standards & barriers (religion,
parents, morals, etc.)
—Sararose Katz, Class of 2005 (Bowne)
Peer Leader/Conference Presenter
“I will participate because I’m interested and want to
experience this. I’m also hoping it’ll be fun and I’ll
learn something out of it.”
—Eileen Robinson, Class of 2006 (Bowne)
Peer Leader/Conference Assistant
“This HIV conference makes sexual health issue information
available to adolescent teens. Challenges include
peer pressure, embarrassment, unavailability of advice
or information.”
—Kenisha Perkins, Class of 2005 (Bowne)
Peer Leader/Conference Presenter
For more information about the conference, contact Hal
Eisenberg by phone at (718) 631-7760 or by e-mail at sparkdozo@hotmail.com.
Chael Needle is Managing Editor of A&U.
