University Park, Pa. -- Currently, more than 40 million people around the world are infected with HIV/AIDS, and every day 8,200 people die as a result of AIDS. On Monday, Dec. 1, Penn State will mark World AIDS Day with numerous acitivties planned to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS.
The Penn State Global AIDS Initiative, in collaboration with more than 100 campus and community sponsors and co-sponsors, will be host for World AIDS Day 2003, "Live and Let Live." Events will run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in HUB Alumni Hall and will include the AIDS Quilt and a reading of the names, HIV/AIDS education and prevention tables, advocacy workshops, documentaries, a global AIDS marble machine, displays, and performances by the University Park Ensemble and the Thespians.
At 4 p.m., in 119 Osmond, Collins Airhihenbuwa, professor of biobehavioral health, will present a keynote address titled, "HIV/AIDS and the Politics of Identity." Dinner will be provided. That evening at 7 p.m., a World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil, featuring campus and community speakers and a special performance by Savoir-Faire, will be held on Old Main Lawn. For more information and event schedules, visit http://www.clubs.psu.edu/gai
In addition, University Health Services (UHS), the HUB-Robeson Galleries and the Palmer Museum of Art are observing A Day With(out) Art, joining more than 8,000 museums, galleries, art centers, libraries, high schools and colleges throughout the country and the world. Works of art in Ritenour Building and other campus buildings will be covered up with posters detailing the impact HIV/AIDS has had on the world of art. The Palmer Museum will drape the bronze paws that flank its entrance, covering them from view to recognize the many lives lost and affected by AIDS.
UHS also is working with the student-led HIV/AIDS Risk Reduction Advisory Council to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS. Student groups and individual students at the University Park campus may apply for a mini-grant worth up to $600 to develop and implement a project to increase awareness about the threat of HIV/AIDS.
The Advisory Council is accepting proposals for projects that will impact student lives at Penn State by reducing the risk of HIV and AIDS transmission. Interested students should submit a short letter of intent describing their project by Dec. 15 to the Advisory Council.
Additional information is available on the UHS Web site at
http://www.sa.psu.edu/uhs