2008 Woodie Awards
AIDS hits the 25-year mark on and across the world
Lauren Confalone
Issue date: 12/7/06 Section: News
As part of the Peace and Justice Series entitled "Hate to burst your bubble but...," the office of Residential Life presented a ceremony on Dec. 29 in the Merton Hall Great Room focusing on the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Coming right before the recognition of World AIDS Day on Friday, the lecture was the second of two featured on campus this semester.
There are several ceremonies that take place to commemorate World AIDS Day.
Ten years ago, the NAMES Project Foundation created a quilt in memory of those lost to the disease that is now annually displayed at 460 sites around the country.
According to an article found in USA Today, NAMES Foundation executive director, Julie Rhode, said, "The power of the quilt is that people can learn from it and teach with it."
"We? should not be afraid of protecting ourselves from HIV/AIDS," said a participant of the lecture Kelly Parks, junior, Stoughton, Mass.
Sacred Heart University has featured various informative lectures on campus to promote awareness about the topic.
There are three ways to contract HIV/AIDS: through a blood transfusion, sharing a syringe/ tattoo, or through sex.
"We spoke about knowing someone with HIV/AIDS. Each person received a balloon and popped it. Inside was a slip with one of those 4 topics on it. We asked those people to put themselves in that position and then we explained each scenario," said Parks.
According to the USA Today article, at a New York ceremony on Friday, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the epidemic "requires every one of us to help bring AIDS out of the shadows, and spread the message that silence is death."
Kathryn DeDominici, junior, Bellingham, Mass. said, "I think it is very important for SHU to keep students informed about issues such as HIV. No one thinks it could happen to them."
There are now 40 million people living with AIDS, said Rhode.
It has been 25 years since the first case of AIDS was identified. U.N. statistics estimate that about 4.3 million people were infected with AIDS this year with about 2.9 million people dying from AIDS-related illnesses.
"A lot of students live sheltered lives and they need to be made aware of the idea that they need to take the proper precautions, AIDS doesn't discriminate," said DeDominici.
Parks said that many people have the mentality that it could never happen to them and probably know someone who has HIV/AIDS without even being aware of it.
"I know that by going to these lectures and programs my eyes were opened up and I can only hope the same for others who attended," said Parks.
As Annan cautioned, knowledge is power when it comes to HIV/AIDS.
World AIDS Day should be one day out of the calendar devoted to HIV/AIDS recognition, but prevention education should come every day.
Coming right before the recognition of World AIDS Day on Friday, the lecture was the second of two featured on campus this semester.
There are several ceremonies that take place to commemorate World AIDS Day.
Ten years ago, the NAMES Project Foundation created a quilt in memory of those lost to the disease that is now annually displayed at 460 sites around the country.
According to an article found in USA Today, NAMES Foundation executive director, Julie Rhode, said, "The power of the quilt is that people can learn from it and teach with it."
"We? should not be afraid of protecting ourselves from HIV/AIDS," said a participant of the lecture Kelly Parks, junior, Stoughton, Mass.
Sacred Heart University has featured various informative lectures on campus to promote awareness about the topic.
There are three ways to contract HIV/AIDS: through a blood transfusion, sharing a syringe/ tattoo, or through sex.
"We spoke about knowing someone with HIV/AIDS. Each person received a balloon and popped it. Inside was a slip with one of those 4 topics on it. We asked those people to put themselves in that position and then we explained each scenario," said Parks.
According to the USA Today article, at a New York ceremony on Friday, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the epidemic "requires every one of us to help bring AIDS out of the shadows, and spread the message that silence is death."
Kathryn DeDominici, junior, Bellingham, Mass. said, "I think it is very important for SHU to keep students informed about issues such as HIV. No one thinks it could happen to them."
There are now 40 million people living with AIDS, said Rhode.
It has been 25 years since the first case of AIDS was identified. U.N. statistics estimate that about 4.3 million people were infected with AIDS this year with about 2.9 million people dying from AIDS-related illnesses.
"A lot of students live sheltered lives and they need to be made aware of the idea that they need to take the proper precautions, AIDS doesn't discriminate," said DeDominici.
Parks said that many people have the mentality that it could never happen to them and probably know someone who has HIV/AIDS without even being aware of it.
"I know that by going to these lectures and programs my eyes were opened up and I can only hope the same for others who attended," said Parks.
As Annan cautioned, knowledge is power when it comes to HIV/AIDS.
World AIDS Day should be one day out of the calendar devoted to HIV/AIDS recognition, but prevention education should come every day.
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