200 Walk, Raise Awareness for AIDS Week

Friday afternoon, she participated in UNC's fifth annual AIDS Walk to help ensure that other people would not experience a similar loss before understanding the dangers of the worldwide AIDS epidemic. "Not many people know about (AIDS)," she said. "So anything to raise awareness is good."

Attracting more attention to the problem of AIDS was the main goal of the walk, which attracted about 200 participants, said Scott Butler, coordinator of the University's Human Sexuality Program and one of the walk's organizers.

The walk came at the end of UNC's World AIDS Week, planned in conjunction with World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.

Participants gathered at 2 p.m. in Polk Place. The event began with a speech given by Tara Ford, an HIV-positive student at Durham Technical Community College, who shared her experiences with students.

Student Body President Jen Daum also addressed the crowd, saying she has supported actively AIDS awareness since 1998, when she organized an AIDS Walk for preschool students.

"You need to make sure you raise awareness whenever you can," she said. "Not just on AIDS Day, but every day."

After the speeches, the walk's participants, led by four students holding a banner trumpeting the walk's cause, marched from Cameron Street to South Columbia Street, South Road and Raleigh Street before returning to Polk Place.

"There are a lot of risky behaviors at our age group," said Amanda Lee, co-chairwoman of the Campus Y's Health Focus Committee. "We need to make sure we educate (students) as well as others."

The walk lasted half an hour and attracted the attention of commuters and pedestrians, but the event's true impact will depend on the amount of attention it receives on a larger scale, said junior John Mackey. "(AIDS) is an epidemic not at the forefront at the University today or with the media. (The walk) is a good way to bring the idea to the forefront -- or at least put it out there."

To encourage the government to address the growing problem of AIDS, Butler and other volunteers asked participants to sign letters addressed to President Bush and North Carolina's senators and representatives. The letters promote increased funding for HIV research.

Butler estimated that 1,500 signatures were collected throughout the week.

The week's final event provided an opportunity for students to prove their social consciousness to the government and the community, said senior Alicia Cool, who has participated in the event for four years. "We have to show people that we, as students, do care, even if (AIDS) doesn't directly affect us."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.