Raising AIDS awareness

As AIDS Awareness Month winds down, Heidelberg students are gearing up for the culminating event – the third annual AIDS Charity Banquet Nov. 28. Co-sponsored by Alpha Phi Tau, ‘Berg Allies and the Black Student Union, the banquet will call attention to the international impact of the disease.

Proceeds from the banquet will be directed to the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation which supports children and families infected with and affected by AIDS, said Cody Bartone, AIDS Awareness event chair.

The banquet will open with an African welcome song, along with international flags and the “Star-Spangled Banner,” and will feature music, poetry and theatrical presentations. Keynote speaker for the event is Tyler TerMeer, a 2005 graduate of Otterbein College who was diagnosed HIV-positive while in college. Now director of programming for the Ohio AIDS Coalition and a member of Hope’s Voice, one of the country’s leading AIDS foundations, Tyler will share his experiences about living with HIV and offer insights about the AIDS epidemic and how it has affected colleges.

Tyler, now 25, also will have a frank and informal discussion with the campus community following the banquet at 9 p.m. in Rickly Chapel.

While the banquet is the culminating event of AIDS Awareness Month, it isn’t the only event that has captured the attention of the campus community. In the first week of the month, ’Berg Allies organized a Condoms and Candy event in which they distributed bags of candy and condoms to portray the importance of safe sex and encouraged their peers to “be smart and conscious,” according to Bartone.

The following week, ’Berg Allies and members of GLASS (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Supporters) at Tiffin University “forked” the lawn in front of Campus Center, planting 1,000 forks in the earth to represent those who have lost their lives to AIDS in the United States. Bartone said the groups wanted to give a visual that would hit home.

Last week, about 30 members of the Black Student Union and ’Berg Allies, all donned in black T-shirts printed with white “got tested” lettering to promote and publicize free, anonymous HIV testing being conducted that day at Stoner Health Center. To dramatically make their point that every 15 seconds someone dies of AIDS, one member of the group fell to the ground.

The final student activity will be a precursor to the banquet. At 4:30 p.m. Nov. 27, students will come together on the College Hall lawn for a public event Bartone calls Huddled Masses Come Together to Stop AIDS.

On Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, the group will officially conclude its participation in AIDS Awareness Month with a short ceremony on campus.

Posted Nov. 20, 2007