1993 Volume 116 No 1–4 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

system, and can't afford the drugs we are developing here," he
says.
In America, Volberding and others in the research community
are working to advance drug treatments for people already
infected with HIV. The goal is a treatment that would enable
victims to Uve with the disease
much Uke current sufferers of
diabetes.
But the United States, too,
is experiencing an increasing
HIV-positive population, and
the demographics of the group
are shifting. With increasing
numbers of HIV infected minorities and women, AIDS has become
less and less a disease affecting only gay men.
As of March, 1993, the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta
reported 182,275 deaths resulting from AIDS. In 1990 the
second leading cause of death for men between 25 - 44 years old
was AIDS. The CDC estimates that 1 miUion Americans are
HIV-positive. These numbers indicate a massive patient population
that must be cared for in the future, which is the reason
Brother Volberding and others are ferventiy pursuing a curative
drug treatment as weU as a vaccine for prevention.
Education is currentiy the only weapon for AIDS prevention.
Volberding does his part to address the stereotyping and suspicion
that often foUows the disease, and he works to provide updated
information about prevention to the urban community
where AIDS has rapidly spread. Volberding often travels to hospitals
and conferences giving lectures on AIDS, but he trys to be
at his cUnic at least once a week.
"I can be on the road these days up to 25 or 30 percent of the
time," he says. "United AirUnes knows me by name. The real trap
is that, as I've gotten more weU-known and involved in more
committees, it gets harder and harder to be a primary physician."
Volberding spends a lot of his time on the road advocating
continued education about the disease. He also encourages college
students, especiaUy Greeks, to become involved.
"If there is a wiUingness to deal with AIDS not as a stigmatized
issue but as something that affects us aU, and if fraternities
are wUUng to lead in AIDS education, then I think they can play
a very important role," he says.
Volberding attended coUege during the turbulent years of the
late '60s, and he remembers the stabiUty the Fratemity provided
him.
"I think you experience so many changes and you grow so
fast during coUege that the supportive environment that the Fraternity
offered was immensely helpful," he says. "The Fraternity
plays a great role in giving people a sense of their own responsibUity."
Personal responsibUity is a message he tries to send to coUege
students, especiaUy regarding social behavior.
I think most coUege students reaUy understand that they are
not in a high-risk group. The problem is convincing them that
they should stiU keep AIDS in mind and take precautions. Because
of their age, abstinence probably won't be very popular, but
they re educated enough that promoting condom use can have a
Volberding believes that
fraternities can and should
take a leading role in
campus AIDS education.
substantial impact," he says.
The largest factor putting coUege students at risk is the promiscuity
of the age group. Volberding beUeves that fraternities
can significantiy affect the campus community by modifying behavior
and supporting AIDS organizations on campuses.
"I think fraternities at many
schools are leading social institutions
that can model proper behavior,"
he says. "And many fraternities,
especiaUy Phi DeltaTheta,
can actively sponsor community
organizations that provide AIDSrelated
service."
At times, the rapid spread of HIV infection and the lack of
any clear solution to the disease in the near fiiture leaves very
Uttie hope for AIDS patients and physicians alike, but
Volberding's upbeat attitude is difficult to shake.
"If I weren't the world's biggest optimist, I would be working
in a different area," he says. "You have to expect that sooner or
later, we're going to stop this. But to this point, there is very Uttle
evidence that anything we have done has had any impact at aU."
With a possible cure and vaccine stiU years away, Volberding
sometimes finds it difficult to convince the government and the
pubUc that AIDS should continue to be a priority. The image of
that first victim of AIDS-induced KS stiU haunts Volberding,
motivating him despite the fhistration. •
New discovery may lead to ALS cure
Ever since Lou Gehrig's, Columbia '25,
tragic death in 1941, a war has raged
against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS),
the disease that results in degeneration of
the nervous system, paralysis, and eventual
death. Now, recent identification of the
gene that causes ALS may lead to a cure of
the disease that affects 30,000 Americans.
Already the discovery has led to an
y ,aJJif#»j*J
Lou Gehrig
understanding of how the gene causes ALS,
and researchers hope that continuing research
will lead to cures for many other diseases.
"After 120 years of research, it's probably the most exciting
thing that has happened in ALS ever," says Lynn M. Klein, vice
president of patient services for ALS Association in Woodland
Hills, Calif.
Phi DeltaTheta has been an active member in the fight
against Lou Gehrig's disease. Brothers Andy Soffel, Pittsburgh '52,
and Warner Peck, Wabash '69, are both members of ALS
Association's board of trustees, and many chapters have adopted
ALS as their philanthropy.
"It is difficult to focus public attention on ALS when comparatively
so few people suffer from it," Soffel says."If we could
coordinate [Phi Delt] chapters on ALS, we could establish a network,
especially for fund-raising, that would really help to bring
attention to this disease."
FaU 1993 219