New York – Novmber 30, 2006. -- Two dozen teenagers in uniforms sit in a class room watching a cartoon about dating projected on the board. They are laughing at the jokes and humming with the hip music.

Although it may seem so, this is not every teenager’s dream of what to do in class. This is a course in sexually transmitted diseases, more specifically, HIV and AIDS.

On the day before World AIDS Day, these minority students in Disha Lynch’s science class at Frederick Douglass Academy II in Harlem were presented with a new HIV/AIDS course by the National Urban Technology Center. Urban Tech, as the center is called, is a non profit organization based in New York, specializing in technology-rich, multimedia courses about such issues as abuse, community involvement or conflict resolution.

All of the courses are interactive – students have to make choices as the cartoon goes on, and animated - using urban characters and contemporary language.

The course presented on this day is called the Prom Night. In the story, Shawna learns on her prom night that her boyfriend, Anthony, has genital herpes. Her task is to convince Anthony to get tested.

After every attempt from Anthony to forgo testing, the students have to choose from three possible responses for Shawna. If she gives Anthony the wrong answer, he will end the conversation and decides not to get tested.  

“It’s very interesting,” Kadeem Coleman, 16, one of the participating students, said. “They are using visual effects and technology and not only lectures, like in previous years.”

Teenagers do talk among themselves about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) “but sometimes, when two boys talk, it can be just a joke,” Nizar Ahchouch, 16, said.

“When more kids get together, it sometimes turns into a more serious conversation,” another student, Hannah Tau, 17, added. In those situations, it’s good to know what to say. Peers listen to one other more than they listen to adults.

These Frederick Douglass Academy students did not have problems discussing issues of dating, denial about STDs, smart choices and speaking up, however, they agreed that it is easier to talk about sex and relationships discussing the behavior of characters on the screen they can relate to.

“We spent too much time focusing on abstinence only and the numbers [of infected with HIV] are rising every year,” said Disha Lynch, a science teacher. “We have to re-evaluate and equip students with knowledge about additional choices.”

According to the United Nation’s AIDS organization in 2002 there were 42 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide and about 1.2 million people in the USA in 2003.

Not unlike Disha Lynch, some health experts also want to focus more on prevention and awareness. African-Americans account for about 13 percent of the US population, but 59 percent of the HIV/AIDS cases. AIDS is the third leading cause of death among African Americans aged 25-34, but the leading cause of death for African American females in the same group, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With more than 100,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, New York has the highest AIDS case rate among all cities in the country. According to the city’s health department, thousands don’t know that they are infected.

The epidemic is increasingly affecting women, who now constitute a third of new AIDS cases – up from 1 in 10 at the start of the epidemic. More than 80% of new AIDS diagnoses and deaths are among African Americans and Hispanics. Black men in New York City are six times more likely to die of AIDS than white men; black women are nine times more likely to die of AIDS than white women. Hispanic men and women are four times more likely to die of AIDS than white men and women.

New York’s health department wants to improve these statistics by making testing more accessible and by linking people who are affected to high-quality treatments. With these changes, at leas 500 lives could be saved annually, the department estimates. 

“What is the message that you take with you today?” Lynch asked her class.

“Be safe!”

“Prevent it!”

The presentation was so successful that CNN devoted an entire news segment to "Prom Night," featuring Urban Tech president Pat Bransford and Frederick Douglass Academy II student Kadeem Coleman.

Click here to watch the video.