Documentary Would Bridge ‘Information Gap’ : CSUN Panel Wants Go-Ahead on AIDS Video

A group of teachers and administrators at California State University, Northridge, is seeking funds to produce a 30- to 55-minute video documentary to explain the origin, prevention and transmission of AIDS.

If approved by the school’s administration, the video would probably be screened during class time to reach all 30,000 students, said Dr. Robert Taylor, director of the CSUN Health Center.

“AIDS is clearly going to be an issue on this campus and it needs to be addressed,” Taylor said.

Producing the video on campus would cost $400 to $1,000, said Steve Gabany, chairman of the school’s health science department. Gabany added that he does not anticipate any opposition to the video.

‘Information Gap’

Taylor and Gabany are members of an ad hoc committee composed of CSUN Health Center personnel and professors from the biology and health science departments who want to bridge what they call an “AIDS information gap” on campus.

“Our faculty has the obligation to transmit accurate information on a topic as sensitive and fearful as AIDS,” Gabany said.

AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, destroys the body’s immune system. It is transmitted through the exchange of bodily fluids, such as semen and blood, the sharing of unsterilized hypodermic needles and through transfusions of contaminated blood.

7,700 Deaths Nationwide

More than 15,000 cases and 7,700 deaths have been reported nationwide. Those at highest risk include male homosexuals and bisexuals, intravenous drug users and the steady sexual partners of IV drug users.

Unlike some brochures that use street language and eroticism to encourage male homosexuals to engage in so-called safe sex, CSUN’s video “is not going to show people engaged in sex acts” as a way of describing ways to avoid contracting AIDS, Gabany said.

Taylor said the film will be geared to the general student body and is expected to deal with the disease from medical and psychological viewpoints.

CSUN’s health center already provides literature on AIDS and has medical experts to answer questions and provide AIDS counseling. Taylor said he believes that he will eventually need a larger staff to handle the growing number of students who seek information about AIDS.

“It’s a disease we’re getting ready for,” he said, adding that there are no known AIDS patients among CSUN’s students.

Supported by Faculty

The video is expected to be completed by spring. But before it is actually produced, Gabany said, he will seek approval and financing from CSUN President James W. Cleary and support from the Faculty Senate, which has already informally approved the concept.

Both UCLA and USC also are exploring ways to educate students about AIDS, officials at those universities said, although neither is planning to produce a film about it.

Federal health officials recently instituted a freeze on AIDS educational grants nationwide until they can decide how explicit any audio-visual or written materials on the subject should be.