Friday, Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day, an annual opportunity for people worldwide to participate in increasing their awareness of the international AIDS epidemic and the hope for a cure. There will be a multitude of events on campus this Friday and we strongly encourage students to take a few minutes out of their days to participate and show their support for both the international and local efforts to fight HIV and AIDS.
From 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. outside the EMU Fishbowl, the ASUO Women’s Center will be organizing a forum for students to pledge support for the international fight against HIV/AIDS. There will be a sculptured tree where students can write their names on red ribbons and hang them in a show of campus unity for the cause. Also at the event, students will be able to get red ribbons to pin on their clothes or backpacks to represent their support.
During that same time inside the EMU at the fountain courtyard, the Women’s Center is also putting together a display to visually communicate facts about the AIDS epidemic to the student body. After getting your ribbon outside the Fishbowl, we encourage you to venture inside and check out the display to educate yourself about the growing international crisis. Outside in the EMU concourse, local artist Tom O’Connell – who is living with HIV – will be creating a 40 foot long AIDS timeline detailing the history and evolution of AIDS as an international epidemic and presence in our world.
In the evening in the EMU Ballroom the Women’s Center, in conjunction with the Cultural Forum, the HIV Alliance, the Health Center and the LGBTQA will join together in organizing a two to three hour event to raise AIDS awareness through speakers and entertainment. The event will feature music and slideshows, speakers, student AIDS activist Cree Gordon, a speaker from the HIV Alliance and a performance by the Von Foxies, a local burlesque group that has pledged their support for the cause. The event will also include a raffle in which students can win, among other prizes, free HIV testing.
Come out and show your support on this important annual day of awareness and hope.