'Live and let live'

Under the banner of the World AIDS Campaign slogan "Live and let live," thousands worldwide joined forces Sunday in concerts, rallies and memorial services to raise awareness about the AIDS epidemic.\nOn campus, Outreach Kenya Development Volunteers and members of the Student Global AIDS Campaign decided to do their share in this massive global campaign by hosting a variety of events throughout the week. \nCo-Director of OKDV Diana Hochman said many students are unaware of the AIDS prevention organizations on campus, and therefore this weeklong service should help students broaden their horizons. \n"Awareness is the first step in ending the ignorance in the fight against AIDS," Hochman said. "I know there are a lot of students who are interested in the fight against AIDS and prevention but truly are not aware of all the various organizations and resources that are within the Bloomington community."\nTo combat this problem, members of SGAC and OKDV distributed pamphlets at the AIDS Memorial Service and Celebration of Hope held Sunday at Trinity Church. \nContinuing this awareness effort, tonight SGAC and OKDV will hold a candlelight vigil, placing luminaries in Dunn Meadow, the Square and along Indiana Avenue in remembrance of AIDS victims. SGAC co-director Manika Bhateja said students will meet at around 5 p.m. outside the Sample Gates. \nToday through Friday, SGAC and OKDV will distribute AIDS information packets, red ribbons and condoms at the Commons desk of the IMU.\n"Many people have not had thorough AIDS education in their high schools," Hochman said. "Having it on a college campus from peers makes it more real, easier to understand."\nAt 8 p.m. Thursday, musicians and dancers will perform in "A Dance of Love" at the John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St.\nServing as a fundraiser for POSITIVE LINK, a community organization that assists HIV Positive individuals, "A Dance of Love," Bhateja said, is one of the major events surrounding World AIDS Day. \nTo culminate the week OKDV will host an informational coffee hour Friday at the Leo R. Dowling International Center in which members will provide a global AIDS perspective. \n"Not enough IUB students realize the full extent of the epidemic in Africa," Kunal Desai, co-director of OKDV, said. \nLast year 2.2 million people in the sub-Sahara African continent died of AIDS, Desai said.\n"If students get involved they can make a difference," Desai said. "Basically, OKDV wants students to stop for a minute and reflect on something that seems too alien from their lives."\nBhateja said the weeks' events will increase understanding of this seemingly foreign problem. "Hopefully, students will realize the gravity of the situation," she said. "Most people know that\nAIDS kills millions of people in Africa, but they don't know that thousands of people in the United States are infected with AIDS every year"