A local leader in the fight against HIV and AIDS takes a powerful message to area high school students.

Bob Bowers is a 23 year survivor of Aids and an HIV - AIDS awareness advocate - today he asked Malcolm Shabazz High Schoolers "What if it were you?"

It's a question that prompts students to think about what they would do and how they would handle HIV.

The program is part of a new awareness campaign and poster contest that uses peer awareness techniques to educate and inform.

Bowers says, "AIDS is still raging on and they need to understand that there is no cure for HIV/AIDS and they need to understand the true complexities and realities that surround the disease itself."

The winners of the poster contest will win a red iPod and have their art displayed at locations throughout the city this spring and summer.