The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 19, 2003, Page 6, Image 6
Health Center to participate in World AIDS Day
BY KEITA ALSTON
THE CA.MECOCK
The Office of Health & Wellness
Programs at the Thomson Student
Health Center is sponsoring sev
eral events in correlation with
World AIDS Day, which is Dec. 1.
The theme for this year is
“Stigma and Discrimination.”
Marcous Gardner, program di
rector of Health & Wellness
Programs, called the event signif
icant because it might “increase
awareness and education in an ef
fort to erase the stigma and dis
crimination often associated with
HIV.”
The events will begin with an
HIV Awareness Step Show on
Friday, Nov. 21 at the Township
Auditorium beginning at 8 p.m.
The cost for the step show is $7 in
advance and $10 at the door.
Tickets can be purchased at the
Township Auditorium, Sounds
Familiar outlets or from members
of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
Antoine Byrd, project coordi
nator and graduate assistant for
the Health and Wellness
Programs, said that the step show
is brand new to the World AIDS
events scheduled.
“The step show is a communi
ty-wide event to increase the
awareness of HIV and AIDS in the
African-American community,”
Byrd said.
The show will feature eight
teams, each incorporating an
HIV/AIDS message in their rou
tine. The teams are from through
out the southeastern region of the
U.S.
Gardner said the step show is a
way “to provide a different means
to raise awareness of AIDS.”
He also added that the step show
is a good way for students to get to
gether and find out about more in
formation about the disease.
The show is sponsored by the
Theta Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi
Alpha Fraternity at USC.
On Nov. 24, the Office of Health
& Wellness Programs is offering
OraSure HIV testing in the Russell
House ballroom. The testing will
run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will
be done by Richland Primary Care
Center and staff members from
the Thomson Student Health
Center.
To get tested, Gardner said stu
dents will place a cotton pad in
their mouths and bite down on it
for a couple of minutes. The pad
would then be placed in a sealed
bag for testing for HIV antibodies.
“Many people practice risky
sex, such as unprotected anal, oral
and vaginal sex,” Gardner said.
“Sharing IV needles is also a risky
practice. We want to reduce or
even stop people from engaging in
these risky behaviors.”
Also on World AIDS Day, the
university will have a quilt cere
mony beginning at 5 p.m. on the
Russell House Patio. Gardner said
there would be approximately 50
student organizations participat
ing in the event.
The students will gather with
quilt panels, which will be assem
bled as USC peer educators from
Sexual Health and Rape Education
(SHARE) distribute information
about HIV/AIDS to the partici
pants.
After the panels are connected,
students will march to the State
House where there will be a can
dlelight event beginning at 6 p.m.
In the event of rain, the event will
be held in Trinity Cathedral.
“USC began the quilt project in
1998 in order to educate the stu
dents and raise awareness about
HIV/AIDS through artistic ex
pression and community involve
ment,” Byrd said. “Many student
organizations, residence hall gov
ernments, University 101 classes
and Greeks participate in the an
nual event.”
World AIDS Day was started in
January 1988 by the World
Summit of Ministers of Health on
Programs for AIDS Prevention.
Dec. 1 is the official date set aside
to bring messages of compassion,
hope and understanding about
AIDS worldwide.
Greater Metropolitan Columbia
is ranked 13th in the nation in new
cases of AIDS per 100,000 people
among major metropolitan areas
with a population of 500,000 or
more. Richland County is first
among South Carolina’s 46 coun
ties in both AIDS and HIV cases
per 100,000.
South Carolina is ranked
eighth in the nation in new cases
of AIDS per 100,000, which is three
times more than the national av
erage. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention considers
South Carolina one of the Top io
HIV “Hot Spots” in the U.S.
Fifty-one percent of all new HIV
infections in the U.S. occur among
people under age 25. The rate is in
creasing in women at six times the
rate of men in the U.S.
AIDS is the leading cause of
death of young Americans age 17
25. There is no cure for AIDS.
Gardner stressed that “preven
tion is important, but if you are
exposed to the disease, get treat
ment as early as possible.”
For more information about the
World AIDS Day schedule of
events, contact Marcous Gardner,
program director at the Office of
Health & Wellness Programs at
777-7618, or Antoine Byrd at 777
8248.
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