College environments are typically considered somewhat protected zones--protected from the "sins" of the general community. However, a recent report from CDC placed considerable attention on the resoundingly high rates of HIV infection among African American students attending predominately African American serving colleges and universities in North Carolina. In the "outside" world, data show that African Americans lead the nation in the rates of HIV/AIDS infections. This research turns on the light to view more clearly an of-shielded group in an effort to identify and assess the exacerbating or ameliorating social forces that these campuses imbue. This project uses quantitative and qualitative methodologies to examine how college age young adults attending HBCU's respond to the pandemic/epidemic. In the general African American population typical intervention approaches have had little to no positive effects on reducing the persistently high rates of infection. An in-depth look is taken into the lived-experiences of students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities as it relates to their sexual risk taking in the age of HIV/AIDS. (Contains 5 tables.)