Boy Scout Speaks On AIDS

His doctors tell him he has only six months to live, but 19-year old AIDS victim Henry Nicols is still making long-term plans.

As part of the ongoing AIDS Awareness Week, Nicols--who said he plans to start college this fall--spoke of his resilience against the disease and urged greater education of preventative practices before about 60 students in Emerson Hall.

"Right now, I'm probably one of the few people who thinks I can beat this," said Nicols, who lives in Cooperstown, New York. "Attitude has a lot to do with it. This isn't a death sentence. I can live as long as I want. I do make long term plans."

Joined by his sister Jennifer, Nicols explained that after learning he had contracted HIV from a blood infusion for his hemophilia treatment in 1985, his family vowed to keep his condition a secret.

But two years ago, after a throat infection indicated that he had full-blown AIDS, he made his condition public by choosing an AIDS education program as his final Eagle Scout Project.

"We were very frightened about how people would react," Nicols said. "It was like I was living a lie. I was tired of keeping it a secret and pretending it didn't exist."

Nicols and his sister have launched a speaking tour across 26 states and met separately with Presidents Bush and Clinton.

They have also been featured in People Magazine and the cover of Parade magazine. They said their goal is to spread AIDS awareness among American youth.

Nicols said he has not given up his active lifestyle. He described recent mountain-climbing trips to the Rockies and to the Alps with the Boy Scouts, and then showed slides of his water-skiing and studying karate.

Nicols also talked about the growing number of people infected with HIV and the necessity for prevention. He told audience members there was no such thing as safe sex, and that only abstinence is completely safe.

"You need to limit the number of partners you have," said Nicols. "You need to practice safer sex. Most people will be infected for five to seven years before showing symptoms. You can't guess who can affect you and who can't."

The event was sponsored by Harvard-Radcliffe AIDS Education and Outreach (AEO) and the Student Health Advisory Council, a University Health Services group.

"One thing I have learned from the AIDS' epidemic is the amazing strength and resilience that human beings are capable of," said Dena Cordoves '93, co-director of AEO.