A Flicker of Hope

There was a somber glow about Indiana Avenue and Dunn Meadow last night as members of Student Global AIDS Campaign and Outreach Kenya Development Volunteers lit luminaries to commemorate those who have died as a result of AIDS.\nThe event was one of several that have been planned for this week, which began with a memorial service Sunday (World AIDS day).\nAn estimated 15,000 people in the U.S. died as a result of AIDS in 2001, according to UNAIDS' Web site . Statistics in less developed areas of the world, however, are worse. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the life expectancy is currently 47 years; without AIDS it would be 62 years.\nThe IU chapter of SGAC was founded last year and began the tradition of lighting luminaries in honor of those dead as a result of AIDS. OKDV, founded three years ago, focuses on increasing AIDS education and awareness in Kenya. Volunteers are sent to Kenya each summer to take part in teach-ins and to help with developmental projects, which are aimed at making the country more self-sufficient. \nLuminaries, traditionally candles lit for commemoration, were placed in white paper bags and placed along Indiana Avenue and around Dunn Meadow at dusk Monday. Red ribbons or facts about AIDS were printed on the bags making the scene even more symbolic. \n"We put the candles in the bag so that we could have the red ribbons on the front," said co-founder of SGAC Manika Bhateja, a junior. "We did that to give the effect of the ribbons glowing."\nMembers of the Bloomington community also participated in the event. Those who knew people who died from AIDS placed their candles in yellow bags. Each yellow bag was labeled with either the name of one of the AIDS victims or a factual statement about the epidemic.\n"The idea behind the yellow bags was so that people could dedicate luminaries to their loved ones," said junior Dan O'Neill, co-founder of SGAC.\nSenior Kunal Desai, current co-director of OKDV, said the event helped educate others about the disease. \n"The whole point was to raise awareness about AIDS," he said. "I think it went well because people were asking us questions (about the display)"