AIDS awareness fair draws little interest from students
Rie Nakanishi
Issue date: 12/2/08 Section: News
SJSU students and AIDS-related community organizations from the Bay Area gathered in the Student Union for the World AIDS Day Fair on Monday, but not many people attended the event.
"I was little disappointed with the turnout," said Stephanie Bowens, the event organizer and peer health educator in sexual and gender health. "A lot of students came to the Student Union as always, but didn't really take the time to grab some of the information."
The event was part of World AIDS Day, a day dedicated to bringing attention and raising awareness of the "global AIDS epidemic," according to the world AIDS campaign Web site.
The health science department organized the event in an effort to educate students with the disease.
"December the first is the World AIDS Day, so to honor the holiday, we decided to come up with a three-day event," Bowens said.
At the main level of the Student Union, students and organizations displayed information about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and safer sexual health.
The Billy DeFrank Lesbian and Gay Community Center, the Health Trust, Silicon Valley AIDS Coalition and SJSU's Nutrition Education Action Team were some of the participating presenters at the fair.
Jeanette Yap, a junior health science major and one of the few visitors at the fair, said, "Being a health science major, you want to know as much as you can about it."
But she also said AIDS is still a taboo topic for many people.
"Not a lot of people are open to talking about it," she said. "So this is a good way to have (people) just kind of anonymously grab information, and if they want to know more about it, they can. They don't need to be picked out."
James Smith from the Health Trust said it is important to educate oneself with accurate information about AIDS, since some people still have misconceptions about the disease. The Health Trust is a Silicon Valley-based organization, which provides resources and support for HIV and AIDS patients, such as getting them connected to doctors and clinics.
"I was little disappointed with the turnout," said Stephanie Bowens, the event organizer and peer health educator in sexual and gender health. "A lot of students came to the Student Union as always, but didn't really take the time to grab some of the information."
The event was part of World AIDS Day, a day dedicated to bringing attention and raising awareness of the "global AIDS epidemic," according to the world AIDS campaign Web site.
The health science department organized the event in an effort to educate students with the disease.
"December the first is the World AIDS Day, so to honor the holiday, we decided to come up with a three-day event," Bowens said.
At the main level of the Student Union, students and organizations displayed information about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and safer sexual health.
The Billy DeFrank Lesbian and Gay Community Center, the Health Trust, Silicon Valley AIDS Coalition and SJSU's Nutrition Education Action Team were some of the participating presenters at the fair.
Jeanette Yap, a junior health science major and one of the few visitors at the fair, said, "Being a health science major, you want to know as much as you can about it."
But she also said AIDS is still a taboo topic for many people.
"Not a lot of people are open to talking about it," she said. "So this is a good way to have (people) just kind of anonymously grab information, and if they want to know more about it, they can. They don't need to be picked out."
James Smith from the Health Trust said it is important to educate oneself with accurate information about AIDS, since some people still have misconceptions about the disease. The Health Trust is a Silicon Valley-based organization, which provides resources and support for HIV and AIDS patients, such as getting them connected to doctors and clinics.
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