Show AIDS Not In Our Backyard I me Mt 4 HUMAN SIDE SIDEBy c. c By Diane Cashel Director Drug Alcohol Education On January 25 in the College Center Sunken Lounge from 11 am a.m. to 2 pm p.m. the Drug Alcohol Education Program Peer Support Team and the BACCHUS Club willbe will willbe willbe be making a quilt panel for the National National Na Na- tiona AIDS Quilt We are arc making the quilt in remembrance to all Utah college students students students stu stu- stu- stu dents who have died from AIDS Please feel free to come by and help sew some stitches to help us in our cause We are doing this in conjunction conjunction conjunction tion with Jeanne Whites White's Ryan Whites White's mother presentation at South City Campus on Jan 31 According to the Utah State Health department in 1991 AIDS was the second most frequent killer of young men in the United S States tates surpassing heart disease and cancer Statistics also reveal young black men died at three times the rate of white men The death rate for Hispanic men was twice that of whites Among women AIDS was the fourth leading cause of death in 1991 To date Americans have died of AIDS re related related related re- re causes Currently Americans are classified with AIDS Americans are estimated to be infected with the HIV virus In 1993 in Utah new AIDS cases were contracted and 30 people died Presently in Utah there are HIV reported cases and AIDS cases The alcohol and drug prevention prevention prevention tion program and the peer support team are dedicated to represent many student health issues While alcohol and drug abuse still is a major focus particularly in our educational materials the Alcohol Alcohol Al Al- cohol and Drug Prevention Program Peer Support Team and BACCHUS Club realized some time ago that our affiliated student groups need education education education tion on a variety of topics including AIDS To educate we must not give up upon upon upon on giving information Ways must be found not to get infected Abstinence is the best prevention against AIDS Every 17 minutes another American dies of AIDS Every 13 minutes another American is in infected infected in- in infected with the HIV virus according according according accord accord- ing to the Utah State Health Department For some AIDS and safer sex education is as easy as tossing out condoms Then there are those campuses campuses campuses cam cam- where the word condom scarcely can be mentioned We can never underestimate the level of ignorance avoidance misinformation misinformation misinformation formation and yes homophobia that exist around this issue regardless of where our campuses are Yet most of us understand that this is not a disease which belongs to a specific part of our population AIDS is something that we must fight together if we are ever to stop the steadily increasing number of infections among our students our friends and our lo loved ed ones Like so many org organizations we want to do our part to help students become educated Peer education is the best weapon in the fight against AIDS People are urged to take a stand against those attitudes and fears that allow students to feel in in- in- in vulnerable |