Spring Break
Artists, Musicians, Writers Who Suffered From STDs
John Bailey
Issue date: 4/14/08 Section: Focus
This week is STD Awareness Week at the Health Education office. You can visit their tables in dining halls from between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. today in Northwest, Tuesday in Towers and Wednesday at South.
It's the unfortunate case that STDs seem a lot less dangerous than they are.
Like car crashes and lawsuits from the RIAA, they're something that "won't happen to me."
But real people certainly do get STDs, even prominent artists and musicians.
Arguably, they aren't "normal" people - they've got that special mystique, that talented jive that separates them from the humdrum.
But you might be a famous person one day, too. And you'd probably rather not croak the day after penning your Homeric epic or in the hours following your first performance at Carnegie Hall.
Learn from these stories, and know that even big shots aren't immune to the nasty consequences of unhealthy lifestyles.
Scott Joplin
Perhaps the best-known ragtime composer, Joplin penned such famous works as "Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer," along with the award-winning opera "Treemonisha."
His music was featured in the Academy Award-winning film "The Sting," and it's safe to say that American pool halls wouldn't have been the same without Joplin's catchy compositions.
Joplin died from complications due to terminal syphilis in 1917. He ended up with a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1976, and will no doubt be endlessly commemorated by thousands of middle school piano recitals across the nation.
Freddie Mercury
That the lead singer of Queen died of AIDS is pretty common knowledge. Unfortunately, Mercury himself waited until the day before he died to publicly reveal his infection.
People have posthumously flamed Mercury for not getting the word out sooner, which is pretty legitimate: when you can whip up stadium audiences at a moment's notice, the potential for stirring up activism in equal measure is enormous.
It's the unfortunate case that STDs seem a lot less dangerous than they are.
Like car crashes and lawsuits from the RIAA, they're something that "won't happen to me."
But real people certainly do get STDs, even prominent artists and musicians.
Arguably, they aren't "normal" people - they've got that special mystique, that talented jive that separates them from the humdrum.
But you might be a famous person one day, too. And you'd probably rather not croak the day after penning your Homeric epic or in the hours following your first performance at Carnegie Hall.
Learn from these stories, and know that even big shots aren't immune to the nasty consequences of unhealthy lifestyles.
Scott Joplin
Perhaps the best-known ragtime composer, Joplin penned such famous works as "Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer," along with the award-winning opera "Treemonisha."
His music was featured in the Academy Award-winning film "The Sting," and it's safe to say that American pool halls wouldn't have been the same without Joplin's catchy compositions.
Joplin died from complications due to terminal syphilis in 1917. He ended up with a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1976, and will no doubt be endlessly commemorated by thousands of middle school piano recitals across the nation.
Freddie Mercury
That the lead singer of Queen died of AIDS is pretty common knowledge. Unfortunately, Mercury himself waited until the day before he died to publicly reveal his infection.
People have posthumously flamed Mercury for not getting the word out sooner, which is pretty legitimate: when you can whip up stadium audiences at a moment's notice, the potential for stirring up activism in equal measure is enormous.
Be the first to comment on this story