Student group to address
AIDS concerns
 By
Megan Finnerty
Features Editor
Young people between 18 and 25 represent the majority
of new HIV infections in the U.S. and infection rates are increasing
among heterosexual populations.
This means us.
Every minute, five young people are infected with
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, worldwide.
These sobering statistics have spurred many members
of the Purdue community to action this week to commemorate the 14th
Annual World AIDS Day Saturday.
Tonight, the Black Student Union will hold a forum
at 7 in the Black Cultural Center discussing ways students can halt
the spread of the HIV and AIDS. Friday, the Student Wellness Office
will have informational tables about HIV and AIDS on the ground floor
of the Purdue Memorial Union.
Angela Lott, the head of the Black Student Union's
education committee, said all are invited to discuss the disease, which
has killed more than 400,000 Americans. However, the union is especially
targeting minority organizations because minorities are most at risk;
AIDS is the No. 1 killer of African American men, and has been since
1991.
Lott hopes at least 50 students will come to talk
with panelists, one from the Indianapolis Minority Health Coalition
and others who are living with AIDS.
"The Student Wellness Office passes out fliers,
but we're creating a dialogue," said Lott, a senior in the Schools of
Engineering. "We want to talk about why people don't use condoms, why
is this a problem within certain communities and how to solve those
problems.
"This is affecting us; it should be important to
us and we need to step up. I've been here for five years and I've never
seen a student group tackle AIDS; it only comes from the Student Wellness
Office. We have a lot of future leaders here, and if we can get people
to see that this disease can affect us, we can go back home and be proactive."
Recent statistics and anecdotal evidence from groups
such as Planned Parenthood, the Centers for Disease Control and the
Indiana State Department of Health support Lott's concerns.
 According
to a recent study, 20 years after the first AIDS case was identified
in the U.S., one in 500 college students is believed to be infected
with HIV. That means there are about 76 students at Purdue with HIV.
Monique Clesi, the HIV counselor for the Tippecanoe
County Planned Parenthood and the disease intervention specialist for
the Indiana Department of Health, said she's seeing more complacency
regarding this incurable disease now than she's seen in her seven years
with Planned Parenthood.
"People seem less concerned about it because there's
this idea that if you get it, you can be taken care of," she said. "And,
especially with college students, drinking is a factor in the spread
of this disease; there really is anonymous sex going on."
Clesi said she doesn't think students' fears lead
them to make safer decisions regarding sex and that Tippecanoe County's
rising rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia are evidence of risky behavior
going on in this area.
Studies show that a person who has these or other
cancerous diseases are at a greater risk for contracting HIV or AIDS.
|
