Students prep for AIDS day

In recognition of World AIDS Day, scheduled for tomorrow, student groups in cooperation with University Health Services will use entertainment to educate students about the deadly virus.

"Here on campus ... (AIDS and HIV) seems really far away," LSA sophomore Sabrina Charles said.

Every 30 minutes one person under the age of 20 becomes infected with HIV, Charles said.

Mara Venners, an LSA junior and AIDS awareness advocate, said students need to realize "it is not participation in certain groups that puts you at risk, it is certain behaviors."

Sponsors of the event want students to realize AIDS still has no cure.

The recent discovery of improved AIDS treatments "doesn't mean you stop using condoms, stop practicing safe behaviors," Venners said. Although AIDS-related deaths have decreased due to life-prolonging drugs, the rate of infection is still increasing, Venners said.

Although UHS does not document University-specific AIDS statistics, it estimates that AIDS cases at the University total near the national average posted by this Center for Disease Control. One in every 500 college students is HIV positive, which would mean about 70 students at the University, said Janet Zielasko, associate director of UHS.

AIDS day planners said their goal is not to scare students, but to encourage further education.

"College students need to realize that AIDS is out there - no one is invincible," LSA junior and event coordinator Suma Amarnath said.

World AIDS Day organizers said they hope to alert students to AIDS' possible dangers as well as give students a feel for what living with AIDS is like.

Campus events for this year's World AIDS Day include a performance by HIV positive composer and lyricist Steve Schalchin.

Promising to bring more than just facts and figures about AIDS and HIV, Schalchin's presentation will include personal testimony of his second chance at life.

The presentation, titled "Living in the Bonus Round," will be entertaining, said Amarnath, one of the events coordinators. In addition to his popularity among college students, Schalchin's past presentations have received incredible reviews from numerous publications including the New York Times and Entertainment Weekly.

Schalchin is scheduled to speak tonight at the Michigan Union, in the Pendleton Room at 6 p.m. Admission to the event is free, however, canned food donations will be accepted.

World AIDS Day events include a candle light vigil, in honor of Washtenaw County HIV positive residents, on the Diag from noon to 1 p.m. The film "Jeffrey" will be shown at the Michigan Theater at 9:30 p.m.

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