When junior Eric Zentmyer found out his uncle was HIV-positive a couple of years ago, he and his family were in disbelief.
His uncle had kept his disease a secret and passed away only nine months after he finally told his family and friends.
“It was very quick,” Zentmyer said. “And it sent shock waves through the entire family.”
But his uncle had another secret that came out at the same time as the news of his disease: He was gay. Because of his uncle’s strong religious background, Zentmyer’s family was especially surprised.
And because his uncle’s age and lifestyle differed from his, Zentmyer found it harder to make a personal connection between himself and the disease.
“I think I’d have been more affected if someone my age with my sexual preference had acquired AIDS,” he said.
Today is the 13th annual “World AIDS Day,” established to raise awareness about the disease and support the more than 34 million people in the world who live with HIV and AIDS.
Despite continuous efforts to educate the public about the risks of transmitting AIDS in the last two decades, misconceptions about the disease still exist. According to the HIV Alliance, many people — especially college students — still don’t believe they are at risk.
Zentmyer, a journalism major, recognized that a person doesn’t need specific characteristics to be affected by the virus.
“A lot of people create their own stereotypes so they can disassociate themselves with the disease,” he said. ” I’m sure that there are plenty of people who still think AIDS is a disease for homosexuals. They don’t think it’s a disease that can affect their group.”
Zentmyer added that no one would have guessed that his 64-year-old uncle, who was a vocalist for a choir in California, was sick, because he showed no symptoms until the last few months of his disease.
“It wasn’t noticeable until he told us,” he said.
People don’t need to have a family member or friend contract HIV/AIDS to realize how devastating the disease still is.
Ben Hoffman, a junior general science major who has volunteered with the HIV Alliance, said his experience brought him into contact with people who have HIV and changed many of his viewpoints about the disease.
“I went into it with the familiar stereotype that people with AIDS were sickly and that the disease was visible,” he said. “But this was a huge eye-opener … It’s not like you can tell people have the disease, and it’s not something you can pin on somebody.”
He added he was shocked the first time he met individuals with HIV.”Nobody met some criteria,” he said. “Anyone can get it.”
Despite the nationwide AIDS education in recent years, many myths about the disease remain.

Leslie Habetler, community relations coordinator for the HIV Alliance, began her volunteer work after she almost lost a loved one from heroin addiction. She said people need to be more educated about the risks that can lead to AIDS.
“He’s lucky he didn’t get AIDS,” she said of her friend. “The Alliance taught him about the risks of dirty needles, and he’s probably still alive because of that.”
She added many common misunderstandings about the disease still exist today, including the belief that the virus can be spread through kissing or toilet seats.
Habetler also said students especially don’t think they will catch the disease.
“Sometimes college students feel that they are somehow immune to these things,” she said. “The number of HIV-affected people under the age of 25 is increasing, so it’s a group we’re concerned with.”
Although the death of his uncle was unexpected and caused great distress for his family, Zentmyer said some people need this kind of exposure in order to understand that everyone is equally susceptible to HIV.
“People think they’re invincible, especially young people, until they have certain experiences,” he said.
Zentmyer added that sometimes in order for people to realize the seriousness of an issue, it has to affect someone close to them, as with car accidents and drug overdoses.
“It’s too bad that it takes something like that to make people aware,” he said.