2008 Woodie Awards
The Daily OrangeEvents to bolster AIDS awareness
Week culminates with international remembrance day
By Sandra Plasse
Posted: 11/28/07, 1:23 AM EST Section: News
Asha Best was shocked to see that there was little recognition by the Syracuse University community of World AIDS Day in 2006, her first year as a graduate student on campus.
The Department of African American Studies (AAS) is centered on activism, so it has a responsibility to bring awareness to the campus community, Best said.
This year Project R.E.D. - initiated by Best, an acronym for Remembering those infected, Embracing awareness and Dedicated to finding a cure - will host a weeklong series of events to commemorate World AIDS Day on Saturday.
All events are free and open to the public. The project will provide an opportunity for the campus community and the greater Central New York region to come together to help fight the AIDS epidemic.
AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is among the leading causes of death globally and remains the primary cause of death in Africa, according to UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS.
There are 33.2 million people living with HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus. Half of those people become infected with the virus before they are 25 years old and are killed by AIDS before they are 35 years old, according to the 2007 estimates by UNAIDS.
Today at 12:30 p.m., there will be a discussion about HIV and AIDS as a human rights issue in Schine Student Center, room 228A.
"Black and brown people are not getting medical advice or treatment, just because they are economically disadvantaged," Best said.
Lillian Baker, a graduate student in Pan African studies, said AIDS needs to be treated as a human rights issue.
"It ravages the body so there is a lot of suffering involved with it," Baker said. "If we look at individuals affected by it as human beings and see the suffering being endured, then there will be a lot more done as far as finding a cure and treating it."
Project R.E.D. will also hold an anonymous HIV testing in Sims Hall this Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. No information about students will be recorded and results will be received about 10-20 minutes after the test.
The Department of African American Studies (AAS) is centered on activism, so it has a responsibility to bring awareness to the campus community, Best said.
This year Project R.E.D. - initiated by Best, an acronym for Remembering those infected, Embracing awareness and Dedicated to finding a cure - will host a weeklong series of events to commemorate World AIDS Day on Saturday.
All events are free and open to the public. The project will provide an opportunity for the campus community and the greater Central New York region to come together to help fight the AIDS epidemic.
AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is among the leading causes of death globally and remains the primary cause of death in Africa, according to UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS.
There are 33.2 million people living with HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus. Half of those people become infected with the virus before they are 25 years old and are killed by AIDS before they are 35 years old, according to the 2007 estimates by UNAIDS.
Today at 12:30 p.m., there will be a discussion about HIV and AIDS as a human rights issue in Schine Student Center, room 228A.
"Black and brown people are not getting medical advice or treatment, just because they are economically disadvantaged," Best said.
Lillian Baker, a graduate student in Pan African studies, said AIDS needs to be treated as a human rights issue.
"It ravages the body so there is a lot of suffering involved with it," Baker said. "If we look at individuals affected by it as human beings and see the suffering being endured, then there will be a lot more done as far as finding a cure and treating it."
Project R.E.D. will also hold an anonymous HIV testing in Sims Hall this Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. No information about students will be recorded and results will be received about 10-20 minutes after the test.
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