not true about the food or drinks. both of you can have a cut in your mouth, and that in turn can have a chance at spreading it
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
HIV-positive teen denied admission to Pennsylvania school
- Thread starter Gaborn
- Start date
- Status
not true about the food or drinks. both of you can have a cut in your mouth, and that in turn can have a chance at spreading it
True, but the amount of virus transmitted also has to be sufficiently large enough to infect the other person. There is a non-zero % chance, but it is extremely, extremely, extremely rare. In fact, I've never heard of a study which observed an HIV infection this way (usually involve studying families with several small children and one has HIV. The kids roughhouse with each other, share food, drinks, that sort of stuff, all throughout their childhood and into their teens, but I don't think any study of this kind has found an HIV infection of another family member this way).
It CAN happen but I've never heard of it actually happening.
scar tissue
Banned
This.
I wouldn't discriminate against a sensible adult with HIV, but I sure as fuck don't want my kid near a kid with HIV. God knows what kind of stupid ideas the other kid (or mine, for that matter) has.
Like, becoming blood brothers or some shit. Bottom line is: kids are stupid and that's okay.
what? and what about the donors? The one paying for the school?
And as we all know, 14 year olds with peanut allergies just go around randomly rubbing their face in piles of peanut dust.
The kid's 14. This is high school age. He's had it drilled into his head every day of his life on how to manage his disease, is capable of taking all his meds on time, and doesn't go around stabbing other kids. He's not gonna be doing blood brother shit. Even at 9 years old we knew that shit was dangerous even without HIV.
scar tissue
Banned
Kinda missed the part about him being 14, I thought he was about to enter school (6 y/o).
Still, what if he is teased by someone and decides to get back at him by giving him HIV? I wouldn't put that past a guy in puberty, hormones and all.
It's horrible that he is infected at that age already, but I wouldn't be comfortable with my kid near him.
Plus, it's a private school so they can do whatever the fuck they want. If it's discrimination to say not because of HIV, they'll find another reason to send him off.
What if your kid teases a kid that snuck a knife into school and gets stabbed in the heart and dies? This kid deserves to interact with other people and go to a good school just like the rest of them. Every other kid is just about as dangerous as this one. HIV dies once it hits oxygen basically, so you'd practically have to have the kid set up an entire blood transfusion just to infect someone.
Or have unprotected sex, which is the school's concern. These kids live with one another 24/7 and they are the school's responsibility. This isn't a black and white issue here and the courts will have to interpret the application of the law.
Beautifully Shaped Monsters
Member
From some of the comments here, you would think this was a parody of what a message board would look like in the 80s.
The school is absolutely in the wrong here, this is discrimination pure and simple and is simply not acceptable.
The school is absolutely in the wrong here, this is discrimination pure and simple and is simply not acceptable.
bengraven
Member
I've seen discrimination first-hand.
My HIV positive friend found out he possibly had AIDS and spent a few days in the hospital. He called his work the first night of course, not only telling them he was in the hospital, but that he was at least HIV positive and may possibly have AIDS.
On his last day in the hospital he called his job (He worked at IHOP) to ask when he was on the schedule.
"You're not on the schedule; you retired."
"What? No I didn't."
"Yes, when you called us to tell us you were...sick...you told us you were resigning."
"I said I didn't know when I'd be back because I'm in the hospital. It was a misunderstanding on your part."
"Well, I'm sorry, but we already wrote up all the paperwork. It's impossible to rehire you."
"Okay, well it was a misunderstanding, put me back on the schedule."
"You don't work here anymore, you retired. That's on YOU not us."
Then they hung up. He reported them to the state and the state sided with the company, saying that he must have "told them he quit while under the influence of the drugs the hospital gave him and he just can't remember".
My HIV positive friend found out he possibly had AIDS and spent a few days in the hospital. He called his work the first night of course, not only telling them he was in the hospital, but that he was at least HIV positive and may possibly have AIDS.
On his last day in the hospital he called his job (He worked at IHOP) to ask when he was on the schedule.
"You're not on the schedule; you retired."
"What? No I didn't."
"Yes, when you called us to tell us you were...sick...you told us you were resigning."
"I said I didn't know when I'd be back because I'm in the hospital. It was a misunderstanding on your part."
"Well, I'm sorry, but we already wrote up all the paperwork. It's impossible to rehire you."
"Okay, well it was a misunderstanding, put me back on the schedule."
"You don't work here anymore, you retired. That's on YOU not us."
Then they hung up. He reported them to the state and the state sided with the company, saying that he must have "told them he quit while under the influence of the drugs the hospital gave him and he just can't remember".
Again, I'm wondering about the legal implications if this kid turns out to be a bad egg and infects others. Now he doesn't have to be a weirdo and want to infect others either. He could also transmit it some other way. If Hershey is responsible for that, they have an out imo. A court case absolving them could possibly get him in.
Also, would ADA apply to actual school admissions or primarily accomodations once they're in?
Finally, with Hershey School, I'm assuming there are tons of kids with equal qualifications get in and it would have to be extremely competitive. It's possible that Hershey has the right to choose between the sick kid and the healthy kid anyway.
How did they find out he had HIV? Would he have to disclose that if they weren't needing to accomodate it? If so why?
Also, would ADA apply to actual school admissions or primarily accomodations once they're in?
Finally, with Hershey School, I'm assuming there are tons of kids with equal qualifications get in and it would have to be extremely competitive. It's possible that Hershey has the right to choose between the sick kid and the healthy kid anyway.
How did they find out he had HIV? Would he have to disclose that if they weren't needing to accomodate it? If so why?
Box of Bunnies
Banned
Maybe the time machine malfunctioned and I simply slid across dimensions to a world where most people didn't learn a fucking thing in the last two and a half decades.
bengraven
Member
Wow, are you real?
What if, what if what if? What if someone sitting next to you at work suddenly turned and shoved a pencil through your neck? Maybe you shouldn't sit next to people anymore, you never know which one will suddenly spontaneously kill you. Seriously, keep a kid out of school because he "may" be vindictive?
My kid is 4 and the center of my universe, but as I said above I have an HIV positive friend and that friend occasionally will stay with us a few days. And the other day this friend gave my son something, but it wasn't HIV. It was his entire still-in-box Power Rangers collection from the early 90s.
seriously, this thread is REALLY REALLY REALLY scaring me with the level of fear mongering and misinformation. At the LEAST the kid is HIV+ but it's controleld with medication. His viral load is probably near zero. I'm not saying you should be drinking his blood or something (not that I'd say that anyway) but the risk of infection from someone on anti-retrovirals is considerably lower.
In addition it seems like people actually think HIV is a lot easier to transmit than it actually is. Outside of a host it's going to die very quickly, it's a very difficult infection to catch, even having sex with him the odds are probably less than 50/50 that the first time you'd get infected. Viral load is LOW in HIV+ patients.
The issue here is unprotected sex. The students live together in houses on campus.
corporate cheerleader
Member
Just curious, what about saliva exchanges while kissing? Is it important for the non-HIV person to have a strong immune system?
Maybe it's because i'm groggy, but I laughed. I'm sorry.
Even so, the odds of HIV transmission during sex with someone on anti-retrovirals are relatively small. Negligible if you use condoms consistently.
Saliva has NEVER been shown to a be a transmitter of HIV. Yes it does have some viral load, but a negligible amount. There is no documented case of anyone being infected by saliva.
Phoenician_Viking
Banned
WTF is wrong with people. Wiki also says that it´s a legend. If the Bug chasers are true, then WTF is wrong with them.
It's real in that the phenomenon exists. It's a legend in that it's prevalence is often overstated, it's a rare kink.
well, for one, that they exist. They're basically volunteer petri dishes for viruses and bacteria to grow, mutate, and adapt. :|
corporate cheerleader
Member
All right, thanks.
bengraven
Member
I know, but I think everyone would have known he had HIV already, so they would protect themselves. It's not like he's going to sneak into their rooms. When he said "vindictive" I assumed he either meant stabbing them with an HIV positive needle or raping the victim.
i think he's been watching too much south park :|
No problem, but I DO in the interest of fairness have to make one correction.
According to AVERT's website which is a nice resource:
So, kind of a common sense caveat, if someone is bleeding from the mouth and is HIV+ you probably shouldn't be kissing them. Saliva is safe.
Tears For Fears
Banned
Kid has aids, reason enough to avoid and deny him. I avoid people with the sniffles. Don't care how safe people say it is around him, he's a danger and a threat. It has nothing to do with ignorance, and everything thing to do with well being.
No, the kid has HIV. There is a clear difference in the risk for either.
bengraven
Member
Yeah, we've been saving up money to inject into our friend to cure him.
a cold is contagious. you're not going to catch HIV from the guy unless you're having sex with him irresponsibly.
corporate cheerleader
Member
Yeah, I figured as much that blood is always a bad thing. I just vaguely remembered something from years ago (probably a fear mongering campaign) that even saliva can be dangerous. Good thing that isn't true, though.
Yeah, it's AMAZING how successful fear mongering about HIV was.
well, it IS the gay disease. :|
jesus
It's not a matter of who pays for what, it's matter of law, which clearly states that people with HIV cannot be discriminated against.
PROTIP: Cold is contagious, HIV is not
You're more likely to catch a cold from a placebo effect of seeing someone a block away cough into their mouth than you are to obtain HIV from rubbing your hands all over a HIV+ person's face and arms. Discarding people that don't fit your ideal is something we shouldn't be doing as a society.
Zaraki_Kenpachi
Member
How long ago was it? Maybe it depends on the school too but in health class the teachers always went out of their way to dispel the myth that saliva can cause HIV. I'm sure not everywhere did tough.
Right, but those odds are what the school is using to make its determination. The ability to make intelligent decisions has to be judged as well.
Why would any of the students know? He is consistently referred to as John Doe in accordance with privacy laws.
Again, I can't really argue one way or the other, but I think it's important to point out that this isn't a case of one part being clearly wrong and the other clearly right. When everything is taken into consideration there's room for discussion on either side, and the final ruling when it goes to a judge will be very interesting.
corporate cheerleader
Member
Did some hard thinking just now, it was something on the internet in the late 90s. I didn't do any research in the years after and it wasn't really a subject discussed by teachers. I guess that silly thought was stuck in my head all these years, hah.
First Name
Member
There seriously needs to be more aggressive campaigns to educate the public about HIV. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't know half the things said in this thread about transmission rates.
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
Sorry for raising a dead thread but they apologized:
http://www.philly.com/philly/educat..._to_HIV-positive_student.html?cmpid=124488459
I missed this the first go round and thought I was in 1981. WTF?
I can understand him not wanting to jump at the chance.
http://www.philly.com/philly/educat..._to_HIV-positive_student.html?cmpid=124488459
I missed this the first go round and thought I was in 1981. WTF?
I can understand him not wanting to jump at the chance.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
Well.
I was going to make a joke about how everyone at that boarding school must be having sex.
But then I read the above article.
Next, let's ban students from school because the might not learn anything.
I was going to make a joke about how everyone at that boarding school must be having sex.
But then I read the above article.
Next, let's ban students from school because the might not learn anything.
TB can be spread through the air, so it's a quarantine situation. The hepatitis would depend on what kind. What does that have to do with HIV?
Not according to the Supreme Court, they ruled in 70's that private, non-sectarian schools couldn't discriminate based on race. There could have been a similar outcome in this case.
- Status