Students from UB and Buffalo State College gathered this past Friday to discuss the impact of HIV/AIDS on society and the importance of safe sex.
Sisters from Delta Sigma Theta hosted the discussion, intending to raise HIV/AIDS awareness and help educate the public. A health educator from Planned Parenthood and a local citizen who is HIV-positive spoke to students about the disease.
"We want to promote AIDS-awareness," said Lauren Brown, president of the Gamma Kappa chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.
Brown said that AIDS-awareness and education are imperative in today's society.
"Anybody can get AIDS, and once you have AIDS, there's no going back," she said.
Students heard from a local resident living with HIV, who discussed his lifestyle before contracting the disease and how extensive drug use and unprotected sexual activity resulted in him being diagnosed as HIV positive in 2001.
The resident said that anyone engaging in sexual intercourse should always use protection and talk to their partners about STIs. He said that it's impossible to tell if someone is infected with HIV/AIDS just by looking at them, and it is important to always remember this when becoming sexually active.
"I really commend the guy who spoke about AIDS. It just shows how prevalent it is in our society now and how easy it is to spread," said Harriet Ndagire, a senior nursing major.
The students felt that listening to a person speak about the disease from personal experience gave the entire program relevance and meaning.
"It was very educative," Ndagire said.
Friday's program began with Michael Seitz, a health educator for Planned Parenthood who discussed the importance of protecting oneself against HIV and AIDS.
Seitz said that Planned Parenthood is a health center organization dedicated to providing educational services, reproductive healthcare, birth control and disease testing, as well as various other services.
"A huge part of what we do is prevention education, and we promote safe sex," Seitz said.
He said that there are several ways in which the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) can be spread. Sharing used needles and engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse are the most common means of exposure.
Seitz also said that since many people know very little about the disease, they believe that HIV/AIDS cannot affect them. There is no definite way to tell if someone is infected with the disease, he said, so everyone should be cautious.
"HIV doesn't discriminate," Seitz said.
Seitz continuously stressed the need for protection during all sexual activities and said that the virus can affect anyone, so it is important to always be safe and be protected.
Seitz encouraged students to visit Planned Parenthood at 2696 Main Street for more information, as well as free condoms.
Following the discussion, students were able to receive free HIV testing and received their results in only 20 minutes.
This event marked the end of Red and White Week, a week-long event consisting of various community service programs hosted by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
