HIV+ 13 year old boy denied admission to Hershey, Pa. school because of "risk"

[Andy Velez]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/hiv-positive-student-discusses-denial-admission-hershey-school/story?id=15074075#.T2iqtXmCWuI

[Joe K]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/hiv-positive-student-discusses-denial-admission-hershey-school/story?id=15074075#.T2iqtXmCWuI

What a total crock of shit this is.  Here are some excerpts from the above link:

"The school said today that its residential setting and the risk of sexual activity made the teen too much of a "threat."

Connie McNamara, spokesperson for Milton Hershey, told ABCNews.com the school carefully evaluated the situation and the needs of its 1,850 students, which span from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade.

"We had to balance his rights and interests with our obligation to provide for the health and safety of other students," she said. "And this meets a direct threat."

She said the school was most worried the boy would have sex -- if not now, at some point in his future years at the school, where students in groups of 10 to 12 live together in on-campus housing.

"Our kids are no different than teenagers anywhere else," she said. "Despite encouraging abstinence, we can not be 100 percent certain our kids are not engaging in sexual activity."

Even making sure the boy and students were educated on how HIV is transmitted wasn't enough for the school to grant the teen admission.

"We looked at the law and our unique program and made the best decision we could," she said. "Our heart goes out to this young man."

I hope his family sues the school, especially because this is in direct violation of the ADA.  Thirty years into HIV and we still have Ryan Whites.

Joe

[Buckmark]

I think that Milton Hershey, being the humanitarian that he was, would be rolling over in grave.  It's like Ryan White all over again.

Interesting that the school practically acknowledges that there is sexual activity going on at their school.  I guess its fine for boys at the Hershey school to have sex and potentially contract other STDs, as long as it isn't HIV.   

This story is a few months old, no?

[emeraldize]

It's marked as December 2, 2011. In February, I posted a Boycott of Hershey notice in the Activism forum.

The following link is the most recent posting by the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania which filed suit for this case. It appears it will occur (when is not stated) in Philadelphia.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/02/aids_law_project_asks_for_milt.html

[LoboDog]

I hope they have deep pockets... On ADA grounds alone they have already lost a court case.

[J.R.E.]

http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/ap/2012/08/07/Boy_eyes_offer_after_Pa_school_changes_HIV_policy.html


http://www.poz.com/articles/Hershey_Admission_HIV_1_22790.shtml

Boy eyes offer after Pa. school changes HIV policy
By MARK SCOLFORO,
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 07, 2012
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HARRISBURG, Pa. --

(AP) — A Pennsylvania 9th-grader is considering whether to enroll in the Milton Hershey School following the private boarding school's decision to treat HIV-positive applicants the same as others.

The school said Monday it was adopting the new policy and had offered admission to the boy, who lives in the Philadelphia area.

The school says it still believes its decisions were appropriate, but made the changes after getting guidance to the contrary from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The boy's federal lawsuit against the Milton Hershey School remains pending in Philadelphia federal court.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All right reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[Rockin]

Ignorance runs rampart. Glad they changed their minds but that won't change the fact that they probably made this young boy feel like shit.

[0608]

Seriously.  It's been about 30 years since Ryan White, right?  About time they educated themselves (and it's a SCHOOL, crying out loud!).

And as for the whole argument that the kid might start having sex, then why not deny admission to any student who has hands because he or she might use them to strangle the other students at some point?  Just such a ridiculous argument.

[Rockin]

And I also hated the fact the principal keep saying that the boy had a "disease". As far as I know he's not sick, he's a carrier and that is very different. She had quite some nerve to talk to the cameras about it as if she was very sure of herself.

[onemoretime]

Absolutely outrageous.   he poses a direct threat to other studends because he can have unprotected sex with them.  so can an untested person that has the virus and don't know it.  this is a crock of shit.  god it pisses me off