Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 15, 1993 TAG: 9304150171
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
GROUP PUSHING AIDS AWARENESS
AIDS COALITION can't make decisions for folks, but it's doing its best to inform them so they don't make deadly ones.
Tara Jankoski knows some people will be annoyed by the AIDS awareness posters that soon will be displayed in bathroom stalls of a few local bars.
"That's one of the things we have to overcome," said Jankoski, a Virginia Tech student who works with the New River Valley AIDS Coalition. "A lot of the response we get is `That's a downer' or `Why do I have to hear about that now?' "
But people have to learn about it somewhere, Jankoski said. At some point, information about AIDS has to hit home.
"A lot of people have that `Not-me attitude,' " she said. "It really bothers me when people say that. All of those people I've seen who are infected - it happened to them."
Jankoski said her goal is to help as many people as she can make safe decisions.
That's why she was with other students at a local bar a few weeks ago handing out condoms.
And that's why she has continued writing to condom companies, asking for donations so that Sharkey's in Blacksburg could hand out the packets on Thursday nights, when hordes of students frequent the place. "I can't make the decisions for them," Jankoski said. "I can't be at the bar and say `Don't go home with that person.' I'm doing what I can do."
Jankoski started working with bars last semester, helping them find ways to reach their over-21 clientele. The Marriott started using a stamp, a ribbon designed by John Aracco, on Thursday nights.
Sharkey's will use a stamp, too, that remembers AIDS victims, though each stamp will be slightly different to prevent students from hopping from bar to bar. Sharkey's and Pedro's have said they will hang posters promoting AIDS awareness at night, after the family business is off and students have taken over.
"There are always a few immature people that may take it as a joke," said Sharkey's general manager, Dave Hurwitz, as he cut out pieces of felt for a banner on AIDS awareness. "But the majority should be aware and supportive." Sharkey's also will donate $1 from orders for Sunday-night chicken wings to the area AIDS coalition.
A few years ago, few businesses were delving into this area where stereotypes still exist and people still talk about AIDS with sneers or hushed voices. "But we're breaking ground," Jankoski said. "We're making it OK."
She knows that not everyone will agree with her methods - particularly people who preach abstinence instead of protection. "My main belief is that no one should have to suffer from this disease," Jankoski said. "If someone wants to go out and tackle the moral issue, that's great. That's not what I'm here to do."