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Greensboro. N.C.
Guilford students march at first annual Youth AIDS Day
Holly Butcher and Matt Haselton
Staff Writers
As part of the first annual Youth
AIDS Day, 3,000 students
from 120 schools across the United
States marched the capitol on Feb.
26, demanding funding to combat
the global AIDS pandemic.
Simultaneous events were held in
countries around the world, including
Bangladesh, Egypt, Sudan and
Uganda.
"Youth AIDS Day is an opportuni
ty for youth around the globe to
unite in solidarity against a disease
that deeply affects us all," said
David Suk, head of Canada's chap
ter of the Global Youth Coalition on
AIDS in the Coalition's press state
ment.
Since more than half of the five
million infected with HIV each year
are under 24, the event organizers
aimed to attract both college and
high school students.
"Our generation is suffering from a
crisis that infects 8,000
young people under age
25 everyday due to a
lack of commitment from
political leaders like
President Bush," said
Luther College student
Anna Bergdall in a
press release issued by
the Global Youth
Coalition on HIV/AIDS.
The march began as a
rally in Lafayette Park
with speakers ranging
from '6os civil rights
campaigner Bernice
Johnson Reagan to Eric
Sawyer, co-founder of
ACT UP New York - a
group "committed to direct action to
end the AIDS crisis."
Each
speaker
stressed the
global impact
of AIDS.
Every day
15,000 peo
ple are diag
nosed with
AIDS, while
8,200 die.
Marchers
summarized
their
demands by
chanting:
"Fund the
fight. Treat
the people.
Drop the
debt. Stop
the spread,"
calling for the
reauthoriza
tion of the
Ryan White
CARE Act,
passage of
the REAL and
JUBILEE
HOLLY BUTCHER/GUILFORDIAN
Sophomores Aaron DeMoss and Erin Burns sign a petition
at the rally
WORLD & NATION
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Guilford students march with their banner at the first annual Youth AIDS Day
Acts, and the contribution of $1.5 bil
lion for the Global Fund to Fight
AIDS.
Based on "science not politics,"
the REAL Act demands that sex
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M
HOLLY BUTCHER/GUILFORDIAN
Protest sign
attend public school.
The Global Fund works with coun
tries in Asia, Africa and South
education stress the
importance of both safe
sex with contraceptives
as well as abstinence.
The Ryan White CARE
Act gives monetary sup
port for HIV prevention
and access to AIDS med
ication in inner city areas
where treatment is limit
ed. Ryan White was a
13-year-old boy who con
tracted the disease
through a blood transfu
sion; after his diagnosis,
he fought against the
prejudices of the school
board for his right to
HOLLY BUTCHER/GUILFORDIAN
America to fight AIDS, tuberculosis
and malaria. To date, the Global
Fund has contributed $3 billion to
fight these epidemics.
The JUBILEE Act calls for the can-
cellation
of debts
in Third
World
countries
heavily
hit by
the epi
demic.
"Coun
tries are
often
forced to
pay off
their
debt and
restruc
ture their
econo
my at
I I - - - i - '--' ,
HOLLY BUTCHER/GUILFORDIAN
Guilford students at the march with their group banner
the expense of their health care and
social services," said sophomore
and Guilford College AIDS Fellow
Erin Burns.
"I consider the march successful
in that it showed AIDS is still a perti
nent global issue," said Burns, a
member of the Student Global AIDS
HOLLY BUTCHER/GUILFORDIAN
www.guilfordian.com
Campaign
(SGAC). "At
the same time
we can't stop
with just a
march."
"It definitely
helped raise
awareness, but
I wish there
were more
people," said
sophomore
Ted Wilkinson,
PRIDE vice
president. "I
also wish that
it had gotten
more coverage
in the national
media. I
heard that
there was
some cover- ,
age on local
news, but there was nothing on any
national station, despite the fact that
it was the largest student-run march
tion - one that will force our nation's
and our world's leaders to take
immediate action to stop this pan
demic," said Healy Thompson,
National Coordinator of the SGAC in
the press release. "We will be the
generation that sees an end to
AIDS."ยงยง
Protesters at the first annual Youth AIDS Day
Mar. 18, 2005
HOLLY BUTCHER/GUILFORDIAN
A passionate
speaker at the march
in histo
ry and
the
largest
AIDS
march in
ten
years."
"This
is just
the
begin
ning of
an
explo
sion in
student
and
youth
mobiliza-