A Coalition of Campus Organizations and Staff Begin Planning For A Week of World AIDS Awareness
by Hannah Elnan

Faculty, students and staff from several campus organizations met Monday, Nov. 5 to plan and discuss the upcoming events for World AIDS Day. “Because there are so many HIV-related events happening and so many different groups interested in participating, we have collectively decided to have an entire week of activities beginning Saturday, Dec 1st and ending Sunday, Dec 9,” senior Peter Meredith of the Wellness Center HIV Prevention Program said.
The theme for the week will be “20 Years: Coming of Age with HIV,” a comment on the fact that most Oberlin students have not lived without the threat of AIDS. The major on-campus events that will happen during the week are a free AIDS film series sponsored by the Allen Art Museum and the Multicultural Resource Center on Nov. 30 and Dec.1, The Eighth Blackbird AIDS Benefit Concert on Dec. 1 and Angels In America. This on- campus theater production about the AIDS crisis will play Dec 7 through 9. In addition to the official schedule of events, including some happening in Cleveland and other cities, there are some events and projects still in tentative planning stages, such as installations and art projects in Wilder, Wilder Bowl and other central campus spaces. As part of The Names Project, a nation-wide organization, the names of AIDS victims will be read publicly and like last year, all the mirrors on campus will be covered for one day. Speakers including members of the Oberlin community and alumni will be featured throughout the week.
Many groups are searching for volunteers and organizers and would also be interested in helping students coordinate any other events for the week. Artists especially are needed to create installations and design silk-screens, t-shirts and posters. “Anyone, though, should contact us, even if they want to volunteer only for one hour on one day,” Meredith said. There will be another planning meeting Monday Nov 12 at 7pm in Wilder TBA.

A complete and continually updated AIDS week calendar can be found on their website, www.oberlin.edu/~cao. Those interested in volunteering, organizing, etc should email ohiv@oberlin.edu.

Center and Allen Art Museum, Oberlin College. Both films shown for free at the Hallock Auditorium, in the Adam Joseph Lewis Center, Oberlin College. Continued from Nov. 30th. World AIDS Day Benefit Auction: silent and live auctions hosted by the AIDS Memorial Eulogy Names (AMEN) Project. At Club 75, 75 Public Square in downtown Cleveland, from 3-8 pm (live auction from 7-8 pm). For more information, visit www.amenproject.org. Dec. 3rd World AIDS Day Conference: sixth annual event sponsored by Ohio Department of Health, Fawcett Center, Columbus; 614-644-1838. Dec. 4th Day of Remembrance and Revitalization: Throughout November, the Lesbian Gay Community Service Center of Greater Cleveland is collecting writings, photographs, artwork - any contribution expressing people’s feelings about the last 20 years of the AIDS epidemic. On December 4, at 7:00 pm, join us for the start of an exhibit featuring these works, which will run throughout the month of December. All are welcome to create their own expression of the last twenty years for display - please mail, email, or drop it off at the Center by November 30. For more info, call Brian at (216) 651-5428, or email him at bthornton@lgcsc.org. The Center is located at 6600 Detroit Avenue in Cleveland. World AIDS Day Conference: sixth annual event sponsored by Ohio Department of Health, Fawcett Center, Columbus; 614-644-1838. Continued from Dec. 3rd. Dec. 7th-9th “Angels in America, Part 1: Millennium Approaches”: Pulitzer prize-winning epic by Tony Kushner, put on by Oberlin College Theater Department. 8 pm in Hall Auditorium, Oberlin College. Tickets are $8 G.A., available through Central Ticket Service (440-775-8169). This epic work focuses on the decay of American society through the lens of the AIDS crisis as it weaves an unforgettable story of political corruption, homosexuality, sex, death, and ultimately, spiritual transformation. To add your event to this calendar, please email information to Richard.Sanford@oberlin.edu