Two AIDS Events to Focus on Hope and Awareness

The Ithaca College AIDS Working Group is sponsoring two events in October to promote understanding of the AIDS epidemic and those most directly affected by it --- and to offer hope. Both are free and open to the public.

On Wednesday, October 3, the group will present the 14th annual "Living with AIDS" panel discussion. The event will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Emerson Suites, Phillips Hall. Members of the College and the surrounding community will be able to listen to a group of men and women talking about their experiences living with HIV/AIDS.

The public is also invited to help plant 2,001 daffodils --- symbols of hope --- on the slope next to the Coddington Road back entrance to the College. Those interested in taking part may stop by between noon and 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 14.

The panel discussion will be dedicated to Cleve Thomas, an eight-year member of the panel who died last February. "Cleve was a much-loved and respected local AIDS activist and educator," says Pat Cornell, a physician assistant in the J. David Hammond Center for Student Health Services and chair of the AIDS Working Group. "He loved our students dearly and challenged them to become involved in their community. And he taught them about HIV and AIDS.

"The panel gives the public a chance to see that people living with AIDS do not look or talk any differently than anyone else," Cornell continues. "People learn not to discriminate because this disease can happen to just about anybody."

The AIDS Working Group provides educational programs and spreads public information about AIDS and HIV. The group’s approximately 15 members include faculty, staff, and students.

A display of panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt --- an event held in recent years during the fall semester --- is slated for next spring.

For more information call Pat Cornell at 274-3177.