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December 06, 2005
AIDS week raises issues
Last week the various student organizations observed world AIDS week by educating people about the discrimination that takes place in the GLBT community, the expense that comes along with HIV infection and advocated safe sex methods.
One issue discussed is the ban on gay men to give blood to the Red Cross. This creates a “structural inequality” due the advanced technology that makes HIV detection must quicker and with safe sex methods, less prevalent said speaker Michael Lee, a Health Education Coordinator for PrideAlive, a AIDS project organization that focuses on the GLBT community. Not being able to give blood or not being able to donate sperm anonymously “create[s] an impression that there is something inherently wrong, diseased, polluted” surrounding homosexuals. PrideAlive works to eliminate this negative picture in order to give better sexual education while creating a fun environment for participants and volunteers.
Another issue addressed during the week was he expense of HIV positive treatment. The United
Methodist Student Movement (UMSM) created stockings for holiday baskets for the Aliveness community center. Aliveness provides support for people and their families who are living with HIV. They provide food and other necessities throughout the year, and the baskets produced give necessities and toys to affected families.
Multiple student organizations tabled throughout the week as well handed out safe sex kits that were created by the Women’s Resource Center. The red ribbons were also distributed to raise awareness. Handmade soaps were also sold to raise funds for a Black AIDS organization. Soaps were $4 and will be sold again for Black History Month in February.
Posted by msveum at December 6, 2005 11:35 AM
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