Our View

Situation:

AIDS is one of the most deadly threats to human kind, and Eastern is having a show tonight to educate students about AIDS.

Stance:

The show is a unique way to inform students, and we all must support this effort by getting red ribbons and attending the show.

Tonight’s Red Show is simply more than a fashion show. It’s more than entertainment. It’s education of World AIDS Day.

The 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day is today, and it is important to remember why finding the cure for AIDS is so significant, but also to educate people with prevention awareness information. That can be done at Eastern.

The show, which starts at 7 tonight in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union, will be important to attend because the show is a way for students, faculty and staff to help donate to AIDS awareness and research efforts.

Money from the event will go to Partner in Health and The HIV Equity Initiative.

This is a way for everyone to recognize World AIDS day, and the show is a way for Eastern to connect to the AIDS issue. And it’s nice to see a different angle for them to present knowledge about AIDS too.

There is also a red ribbon sale all day at the union for $1. You can also go to the Bridge Lounge from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and create a quilt square for the Eastern Commemorative Quilt honoring someone you know with HIV/AIDS. The finished quilt will be displayed at The Red Show.

This year’s theme for World AIDS Days is leadership for the second year in a row. Eastern is showing initiative and leadership with the Red Show. New Student Programs, Wesley Foundation Campus Ministry, EIU Pride, Eastern Reads, Health Education Resource Center, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Student Community Service and Students United for World Change are all sponsoring this event and the other events today.

Kimberlie Moock, director of New Student Programs, said it is important to support individuals who have incurable diseases.

“The medical community has done good on giving out treatment that can help prolong life but we still don’t have a cure,” she said.

Moock said this event will also educate students on how to remain safe and not contract the virus.

“We are trying to bring awareness that it is a global issue and just a not local one,” she said. “In the U.S. we can access health care better, but we need to continue to show support to countries that don’t have the medical capabilities.”

The Red Show costs $5 and donations are also accepted. So, do your part by attending the show and buying a ribbon for a dollar, and that dollar could go toward saving someone’s life someday.