‘Get Informed, Get Tested' is AIDS week theme

November 29, 2004

‘Get Informed, Get Tested' is AIDS week theme

by Bonnie Marx

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- "Get Informed, Get Tested" is the theme of AIDS Awareness Week at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, which runs Tuesday, Nov. 30, through Friday, Dec. 3.

As part of the week, free, anonymous AIDS tests will be available.

Events of the week are built around World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. This year SIUC's AIDS Awareness Week includes two nationally known speakers, movies, music, discussions and more. SIUC's Lincoln Drive will be the site of 3,000 flags; each flag represents 300 persons affected by AIDS, adding up to a total of 900,000.

Michael DeStefano and Rae Lewis-Thornton will speak and lead discussions. Stefano, who is also known as "Mikee D," is a stand-up comedian and campus lecturer with a powerful message about alcohol, safe sex and HIV/AIDS. In his presentation, "Wise Words From A Wiseguy," he tells his story of an abusive childhood, alcohol and heroin addictions, the death of his wife from AIDS-related causes, and his own HIV infection.

Lewis-Thornton was national youth director for Jesse Jackson's 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns. In 1986, during a routine blood drive visit at a Washington, D.C., Red Cross center, Lewis-Thornton received a diagnosis of HIV positive. By1992, she had full-blown AIDS, and began speaking to students about her personal experience living with the disease. She uses her life as an example that AIDS is a nondiscriminatory disease, challenging common myths and stereotypes.

Daily events include a display in the Student Center's Gallery 51 (near the north entrance) and information tables. All events are free except the Old Main buffet.

Engaging the whole student is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint for the development of the University by the time it celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2019.

The schedule:

Tuesday, Nov. 30

• Information table/health fair, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Student Center, north escalator area.

• Anonymous, free AIDS testing, 2-6 p.m., Newman Center.

Wednesday, Dec. 1

• World AIDS Day/Red Shirt Day. Wear a red shirt in support of all individuals and lives affected by HIV/AIDS.

• AIDS Flags Display, Lincoln Drive, SIUC campus.

• Anonymous, free AIDS testing, 2-6 p.m., Newman Center.

• Information table/health fair, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Student Center, north escalator area.

• Be an Angel for Children Living with AIDS, Student Center information tables two and three and the Scheduling Office.

• Jammin' with Mike DeStefano (discussion), 3:30-4:30 p.m., Student Center Illinois Room.

• Women and HIV/AIDS: A Rap Session (discussion), 5-6 p.m., Student Center Illinois Room.

• Voices of Inspiration performance, 7-7:30 p.m., Student Center Ballroom D.

• Keynote Speaker: Michael DeStefano, "Wise Words from a Wiseguy," 7:30 p.m., Student Center Ballroom D.

Thursday, Dec. 2

• AIDS Flags Display, Lincoln Drive, SIUC Campus

• Be an Angel for Children Living with AIDS, Student Center information tables two and three and the Scheduling Office.

• Information table/health fair, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Student Center, north escalator area.

• Old Main Buffet, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Student Center Old Main Restaurant. One dollar of every buffet meal will go to the Southern Illinois HIV Care Consortium Christmas Project.

• Roundtable Dialogue: "The World in our Hands," with Father Joseph A. Brown, 2-3 p.m., Student Center Missouri Room.

• Anonymous, free AIDS testing, 2-6 p.m., Newman Center.

• Movie: "Soft Smoke" and presentation "The 411 on HIV," 4-6 p.m., Student Center Ballroom A.

• Mix and Mingle with Rae Lewis Thornton, 6-6:45 p.m., Student Center John W. Corker Lounge.

• AIDS Awareness Speaker: Rae Lewis Thornton, "The Power Within," 7 p.m. Student Center Ballroom D.

Friday, Dec. 3

• AIDS Flags Display, Lincoln Drive, SIUC Campus

• Be an Angel for Children Living with AIDS, Student Center information tables two and three and the Scheduling Office.

• Noon Tunes Band: Carrie Oliver & The Blues Bandits, noon-2 p.m., Student Center Roman Room.

• Movie: "Starting Over" with presentation "HIV/AIDS -- Confronting your Personal Vulnerability and Your Role in Stigma Prevention," 4-6 p.m., Student Center Ballroom B.