December is arguably one of the most celebrated months. Stores are filled with Christmas décor, plenty of trees are decorated with ornaments and TV screens display back-to-back helpings of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “A Christmas Story”. But this winter month is also the proud owner of another very important, overshadowed day: World AIDS Day.
Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day and just as Christmas, among other winter observances, will be celebrated in a variety of traditions worldwide, so will this first day of the month. According to the World AIDS Campaign, this year’s initiative is called Light for Rights, a campaign designed to shine the light on HIV and human rights. Six continents will participate in AIDS awareness events and celebrations to support the cause. Even ASU will lend a hand.
The event “Paint for Peace — Body Positive,” hosted by HEAL International and Gamma Rho Lambda Sorority, is an event to promote health, body awareness and education. People are encouraged to attend this event to paint, learn and explore in order to express peace and hope for the future of HIV/AIDS. It will take place on Hayden Lawn on the Tempe campus from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and all paintings will become a part of the Memorial World AIDS quilt.
Why should we be concerned? How does World AIDS Day affect us? Let’s look at the statistics. According to the Light for Rights Campaign, 33 million people worldwide have AIDS and 2 million of them are under the age of 15. Every day, 7,397 people are diagnosed with AIDS, which means 308 people an hour. Half of all AIDS cases worldwide are women. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 1.1 million Americans have HIV/AIDS with the highest percentage falling between 13 and 24-years-old. Twenty-one percent of people do not know that they have HIV and 17 percent of U.S. cases lie in our Western geographic region. Still not hitting home: One in 500 college students is infected with HIV.
The risks may sound slim for someone like you and me, but when you think about the number of U.S. college students, this ratio means thousands of infected individuals — not to mention a likelihood of over 100 at ASU.
It’s very easy to become so consumed with our day-to-day lives. The Haitians battling Cholera do not live in one of the 50 states; we do not go outside and see malnourished children like the ones in Sub-Saharan Africa. And the majority of AIDS victims reside outside of the United States.
Just because the problem isn’t something happening on a large scale where we live, it still merits our undivided attention. For at least a few minutes during the lunch hours this Wednesday. Stop in at an ASU event such as the World AIDS Day Community Fair on the downtown Phoenix campus, the World AIDS Day Eve: A Global Village in Tempe, Paint for Peace or any other local event.
Or just take a moment to think about those statistics and make an effort this December to be supportive of AIDS awareness.
Reach Shala at Smmarks3@asu.edu
