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Page 2 NEWS Dec. 1, 2006 www.guilfordian.com Greensboro. N.C. Student activists prepare for World AIDS Day By Jamie Metrick | staff writer About 40 million people world-wide are living with HIV. In Guilford County alone 1,500 people are living with HIV, according to the Triad Health Project. Infection rates are increasing in every region of the world. Because of these statistics, the Dec. 1 World AIDS Day was established to raise awareness and educate people about this preventable disease. Celebrity-endorsed concerts, student-led demonstrations, and other charity events will take place around the world. Events are being launched on every level: continents, countries, states and communities. Guilford College will join in this global and local ef fort. The Community AIDS Awareness Project (CAP) honored World AIDS Day the entire week leading up to Dec. 1. Their theme this year, "Open Your Eyes to AIDS," will culmi nate with their final demonstration today. Student volunteers will be led around cam pus blind-folded, escorted by partners all day. At 6 p.m. in front of Founders Hall, the blindfolds will be ceremonially removed. Participants will read testimonies and names of people who have died from. AIDS. The testimonies will be followed by a candle light vigil. "AIDS is a part of our world and we have a responsibility to educate ourselves about it," said CAP member and first-year Atreese Watkins. Earlier this week CAP had a number of themed events taking place across campus. Monday's theme was "Personal." CAP vol unteers and other students created a "Prom ise Chain." People demonstrated their per sonal commitment to AIDS awareness and prevention by stringing together red paper Julian Kenneoy/Guilfordian Members of CAP sort condoms and make ribbons in preparation for World AIDS Day. links with the names of students who made them. Tuesday's theme of "Community" was expressed through an open-mic night and bake sale at the student-run Greenleaf cof fee house. The open-mic gathered poets and musi cians. Martha Assefa, a CAP member and sophomore from Kenya, read a monologue from a play about a formally uneducated Kenyan woman who wanted to be a poet. "AIDS is just something that infuriates me," Assefa said. "I'm infuriated because I'm from Kenya where 700 people die a day (from AIDS) and medical companies don't help their fellow people (get medicine). It's nice to see things like these photos and events that show people care and are trying to make a difference." On Wednesday, CAP held a pajama-party style viewing of the movie Rent in the Queer and Allied Resource Center (QuARC). Food and discussion of the effect of AIDS in the country tied to the day's theme, "United States." "International" was Thursday's theme, which was observed with the viewing of the movie Yesterday, the story of an African woman living with HIV who struggles to live long enough to send her only daughter to school. In between these events CAP members and volunteers distributed condoms, sold CAP logo beanie hats for charity, and gave out red ribbons. On Monday, many students opened their campus mailboxes to find a rib bon and a schedule of events. Only half re ceived a ribbon, representing the fraction of college-aged students who have HIV/AIDS. The symbolic red ribbons were created in 1991 by the New York based Visual AIDS organization. The ribbon is worn as a sign of solidarity for people living with HIV/AIDS. Lastly, CAP presented the "Open Yours Eyes to AIDS" photograph display in front of Founders. On Tuesday morning bushes leading to the main door and tree trunks around campus were strewn with over 118 photographs of Guilford students, hands palm-up covering their eyes. "I think it's important that students know what's going on," said first-year Martha Orhai, CAP member. "Our age group is at the highest risk, but we've grown up with this idea that we're at the least risk because we know what an STD is. (AIDS) doesn't need to be another fact of life." After the campus-wide observance, CAP co-founder Erin Bums, a senior, left today for Washington, D.C., to participate in the World AIDS Day march. Also in D.C. will be nu merous other demonstrations and a display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. The Quilt, now with 40,000 panels, was created in 1987 as a memorial to those who died from AIDS. While not everyone can go to Washing ton, Bums urges students to get involved with World AIDS Day and other CAP activi ties: "Find out how we can change the current statistics in our own lives and what our gov ernment is doing," Bums said. Political cartoonist talks Quakerism and journalism Continued from page I think she had a very level- as an extremely compelling field being a notable exception. Wilkin- headed view of religion, most like- but also an extremely cymcal one. son, though she is religious, ly attributed to the fact that she is a "Quaker meeting is a good an- is against limiting freedom of satirist," said sophomore Ross Br- tidote to journalism for me," she speech. ubeck, who attended both events, said. I really try not to think about "Today everyone wants to "But she doesn't let too much get cartoons during meeting for wor- 'stop them damn pictures,' if they in the way of what she has to say." ship hurt their feelings or the feelings ' Later, Wilkinson gave a lecture Wilkinson showed slides of her of anyone else in their tribe," she entitled "Drawn to Quakerism: cartoons to the audience, joking said. "When newcom ers arrive on our shores with their dearly held religious beliefs, they should come expecting those beliefs to be scm- tinized." Wilkinson went on to point out that people who say that it is of fensive to show pictures of their religious figures never complain when they are shown in a positive light. "People hate stereotyping un less it's positive stereotyping," she said. Faculty, staff, students and friends of the college attended the events. "People hate stereotyping unless it's positive stereotyping." Signe Wilkinson Political Cartoonist Friendly Influence on the Artist's Craft" at New Garden Friends meeting. "A girl growing up Quaker has the feeling of equality in her bones," she said, explaining how she has come so far in a field that is dominated by men. Wilkinson described journalism that since being cheap was one of the cardinal virtues of Quakerism, they had probably all come to see free car toons anyway. "When they say practicing Quakers, they are talking about me," Wilkinson said. "I could use a lot of practice. I know a lot of religious people who need practice following the tenents of their beliefs. Max Carter being the obvious exception." "Coming from a liberal, un-pro- grammed Quaker background, I saw expressions of community, in tegrity, peace, equality and poten- JuLiAN Kenneoy/Guilfordian Quaker cartoonist Signe Wilkinson sits on a censorship panel discussion in the library. tially simplicity in her cartoons, said junior and practicing Quaker Colin Bussier-Nichols. "But it should be recognized that her un derstanding of these testimonies would not have been congruent with the beliefs of more then half the Quakers in the U.S. Junior Rania Campbell-Cobb, a practicing Quaker, was enthusias tic about the lecture: "She's a woman who is very prominent in a male-dominated field. Her Quaker upbringing said that she could do whatever men could and so she has a belief that she belongs. I think that is really great."
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