He also urges pharmaceutical companies and wealthy governments, like the United States, to develop methods for lowering the cost of treatments in impoverished countries. Stella says he became concerned about the AIDS epidemic after reading a series of Washington Post articles about the African crisis. The series, which featured several profiles of men, women and children dealing with the consequences of the virus, alarmed Stella. He says he would like to affect others similarly. Davis agrees, saying that ASAP's aim is to encourage youths to become active members of a global community.
Society makes teenagers feel that there is nothing they can do and that their voices don t count.
ASAP was also able to expand its student body beyond the original freshman history class. Meg Cassedy-Blum, a sophomore, joined ASAP last year after hearing about its charity work from a friend. Since last year, Vlasits says, the club has gained not only new members, but also newfound organization. Leaders hope this reorganization will allow ASAP to achieve more than it has in past years. Isen, who says she feels a strong desire to act on behalf of herself, her community and her world, will be glad to see her work have an effect.