IF YOU GO

What: Scott Fried lecture

Where: Goldstein Auditorium, Schine Student Center

When: Today, 7 p.m.

How much: $3 for students with SUID, $5 general admission

Scott Fried contracted HIV in 1987 during his first, and only, sexual encounter. He was 24 years old.

A few years after being diagnosed with the disease, Fried found himself sitting at yet another friend’s funeral: His friend, Richie, had died of AIDS. He was one of 73 of his friends to die of AIDS. Not wanting to become another statistic of the epidemic, Fried looked to make a name for himself.

Fried said on his Web site he did not want to become ‘another candle burning through the night in my mother’s kitchen on the anniversary of my death.’

Fried decided to devote the past 13 years of his life to sharing his experiences with people around the world.

Fried, public speaker, health educator and author, will hold a lecture Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Goldstein Auditorium in the Schine Student Center. The event will be hosted by Hillel, SU’s Jewish Student Union and University Union.

OrangeAID, Alpha Epsilon Phi, Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity Inc., and Keep a Child Alive are on-campus organizations co-sponsoring the event.

‘He is an extremely talented and motivational speaker that I think everyone should hear,’ said Helene Kahn, president of the Hillel Student Board.

Fried has shared his stories with more than one million people and has spoken at 500 colleges, universities and institutions in the United States, Israel, England, Holland and Canada.

Kahn, who spoke with Fried on Tuesday, said he will speak about the general public’s awareness of AIDS, HIV and the fears he faced with his sexuality. She said some students struggle with the same confusions as Fried, and his lecture could impact students positively.

‘I think it’s good that he promotes awareness and shows people that you can live with this disease and still be a normal person,’ said Alex Rosenfeld, a junior biology major and president of OrangeAID.

Fried loves talking about those issues that no one else likes to talk about, Kahn said.

‘He helps you to feel safe and comfortable talking about these things that nobody else does,’ she said.

Fried is a co-founder of an HIV-positive speakers’ bureau through the New York City Board of Education and a nonprofit AIDS organization in Manhattan. Fried also wrote ‘If I Grow Up: Talking with Teens about AIDS, Love and Staying Alive’ and ‘My Invisible Kingdom: Letters from the Secret Lives of Teens.’

‘My Invisible Kingdom’ is a collection of thousands of letters he received from teenagers who wanted to share their pain and suffering with someone they can confide in, according to his Web site.

hadrost@syr.edu

Published on October 20, 2009 at 12:00 pm