"They might get a lot of pranksters and prank calls, but they also get a fair number of really meaningful calls from people who need counseling or referral," explained Franco of Kapiolani Community College.
"My students learn how to answer their questions. In so doing, they learn about the disease. Hopefully, that experience on the hot line is convincing my students that they need to change their behavior related to HIV and AIDS," said Franco, who added the experience helps students shed stereotypes of those with the disease.
The class and others have new options including volunteerism as part of a growing trend at community colleges nationwide to underscore the role of civic responsibility among students.
At the community college, such volunteerism - or service learning - has made it one of 10 campuses across the country participating in a five-year "Bridges to Healthy Communities" project sponsored by the American Association of Community Colleges.
The project's goal is to integrate community service with related classroom topics, part of a growing trend at community colleges nationwide to underscore the role of civic responsibility among students.
As part of the project, professors like Franco and John M. Berestecky have developed a pilot program that integrates HIV-related volunteer assignments into 18 courses. These courses allow students the option to gain field experience for credit with agencies such as the state Department of Health's HIV/AIDS education program, the Life Foundation, Pacificare and the Waikiki Health Center.
Students can elect to conduct education programs that help them identify health risks. Others can monitor the HIV hot line at the center or work a floor of AIDS patients at Queen's Hospital.
"All of them are coming back to me and telling me that they had no idea that the problem, first off, is as big as it is, and that what they're learning in class is really meaningful to the people that they're working with," said Berestecky, an assistant professor of microbiology.
"This idea of service, and being an asset and giving something to the community is really enforced by the program," he said.
On Dec. 2-3, Kapiolani will host a World AIDS Day event funded by a grant from the project. Activities will include speakers, films, educational booths and entertainment as well as an unveiling of the Hawaii AIDS Quilt on campus throughout the month. Franco and Berestecky were part of a Kapiolani Community College group that recently visited the National AIDS Quilt in Washington D.C. as part of their training for the "Bridges" project. Both came away with heartfelt experiences.
"One of the things that struck me the most was that in the panels, a lot of people's fondest remembrances of the person that died was of a trip that they'd made together to Hawaii," Franco said.
Added Berestecky: "You don't really think about how much of an impact this disease has had on our society until you see something as graphic as that.
"It's just panel after panel that stretches all over the whole mall."
Harvard University School of Public Health and the Miami-Dade Community College Medical Center are conducting the five-year project through a $1.375 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.