Milton Hershey School Saga Continues Despite AIDS Protestors

Posted by Tom Thayer in News, Political

Jan
26

I am watching this event unfold and will keep updated blogs about it since it’ll be an important court decision when this comes to trial.

It looks like the school will file a response by the first week of February or the end of the month. School officials said they are prepared to argue the case in court, and they believe they made the correct decision in rejecting the HIV+ boy’s application.

“We understand and respect that people have different viewpoints on this matter,” said Connie McNamara, school spokeswoman. “We hope that fair-minded people also understand that we did not make this decision in ignorance, that we looked at all the complicated issues and made the decision we thought was best for our students.”

Specifically, school officials say that while it is not condoned, there is no way to stop their students from having sex with each other. And because students do have sex, admitting a child with HIV would constitute a direct threat to other students. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, school officials say they could be allowed to reject the student’s admission on that basis.

HIV and AIDS advocates have rejected that argument, saying that with modern medical treatment even unprotected sexual encounters with an infected individual rarely result in the virus being spread. Instead, they see the school’s stance as a form of discrimination. This HIV/AIDS Discrimination Suit will be a big news item as it moves through the court system with large implications. We can only hope that the legal system stands firm in its decision that there has been discrimination and send a message to any future violators who look to target HIV+ individuals.

Tom Thayer

info: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/01/hivaids_activitists_outraged_o.html