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When World AIDS Week begins today, more than a dozen campus groups will come together to inform the student body of the deadly disease.
"I just was kind of looking for a project that would help Hillel show to the community that what we consider Jewish values are really human values," said Rachel Harper, chairman of the tzedek committee for N.C. Hillel.
"One thing that we saw that could bring us all together was AIDS work because AIDS doesn't discriminate," Harper said, explaining that "tzedek" basically means "to do the right thing."
Hillel is working with more than 10 other campus organizations, including the Campus Y, Campus Health Services and the UNC Center for AIDS Research, to sponsor World AIDS Week at UNC, bringing in speakers, as well as portions of the AIDS Memorial Quilt.
"It has people on it from every race and religious group that you could think of," Harper said.
Student government's public service action committee is one of the groups involved in planning a vigil as one of the week's events.
"AIDS is a very underrepresented cause, and if we raise awareness more, we can really spread the word and make a difference," said Theresa Schramm, a member of the committee.
As of 2005, there were 11,130 North Carolinians living with HIV and 8,418 affected by full-blown AIDS.
HIV can be transmitted through unprotected sex with an infected partner, transfusion of contaminated blood or shared unsterilized needles. Infected pregnant women also can pass HIV to their unborn children.
"One of our main focuses was to have programming that not only brought up background of the AIDS crisis, but to educate students," Harper said.
Not only are the groups working to educate people about the disease, but they also want to give students an opportunity to explore nonprofit health careers and opportunities.
Harper said she hopes the week will emphasize diversity while connecting students to people through a common issue.
Schramm also said she wants students to feel inspired to help out in the future.
"I just hope that we can affect people to realize how important the issue is and how much work we need in raising money and trying to affect the people that are affected by it," Schramm said.
"Although we may not all be infected with AIDS, we are all affected in a different way."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
