Students Bring Global AIDS Campaign to Campus

Author: Khairani Barokka

The average Middlebury College student has probably heard plenty about HIV/AIDS and knows it is a global pandemic. But how many people here can really explain what HIV/AIDS is and the different ways it's transmitted? How many know how the real extent of the AIDS problem - most importantly, how many know what it takes to stop it? If the passionate members of the new Students Against Global AIDS Campaign (SGAC) Middlebury chapter have their way, by the end of this year many more of us will know enough to genuinely care about this dire issue, and take a stand.
The modern scourge in the world today is HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and fatal AIDS (acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome). AIDS emerges in the late stages of the HIV virus. 40 million people in the world today carry HIV -- and all of these people will die premature deaths.
Every day, 14,000 more are infected with HIV. The virus has caused 13 million children to be orphaned.
SGAC's constitution was only just approved in January, but already they have attended a national conference and returned with even more ideas to add to the long list this ambitious group has made to get the above statistics and associated problems out into the open.
It all started when Elizabeth DiCioccio '06 heard of SGAC, the nationwide campaign founded in February 2001 that now has members in 188 institutions, many who have taken on global youth leadership roles. She and fellow student Jamie Hess '03 organized a meeting on Jan. 22 to start a chapter of SGAC. This drew the attention of about 25 people, all of whom were excited to learn of the campaign's national conference which was held from February 28 to March 3 in Washington, D.C.
Last week, 16 SGAC members traveled down with the Williams College chapter to the nation's capital for the event, and found themselves in the presence of such figures as Scott Evertz, President Bush's Special Advisor to the Secretary for Global HIV/AIDS Initiatives, actor Rupert Everett, and even a taped message to conference-goers from U2 star Bono.
Among other things, each Middlebury SGAC member chose to attend four out of 46 workshops offered on everything from "Corporations, AIDS and Equal Healthcare", "Working with the News Media", and attended three formal plenary sessions, where students took the mike to grill Evertz, Everett and other speakers.
SGAC member Nicole Maddox '06 glowingly described the conference as, "Overwhelming. There was such a spectrum of information."
Maddox has returned to Middlebury determined to get more of her peers up to speed on the AIDS issue, particularly political aspects of the epidemic. "I really just want to spread general knowledge at Middlebury about what's happening -- the better we can buttress this problem with intelligent people," she said, admitting that despite a few knowledgable about the politics of the issue, "I don't think a lot of people hear a lot about the role of multinational corporations, about channeling money to affected countries, even the role campaign finance reform has."
Fellow member Nathaniel Marcus '04 agrees that there is a general lack of awareness on campus, but saying, "It doesn't mean that it's a non-issue in the world just because it's a non-issue at Midd. The problem of AIDS hasn't gotten smaller just because we don't hear about it. We're trying to help millions of people around the world."
Of course, Marcus and SGAC sound very idealistic. Realistically, how much of a chance do two dozen students in Vermont have of affecting global or even national AIDS policy?
Marcus and Maddox both had very optimistic answers. "Students and NGOs [non-governmental organizations] are actively campaigning. Without NGOs putting pressure on the government, they wouldn't implement certain policies. They are giving impetus for the government to act on HIV/AIDS," Marcus said. "I think we as youth are the driving force of this nation," Maddox agreed, "We may be a small college, but from the unity and cohesion of many colleges we can do a lot."
SGAC at Middlebury is planning many different awareness activities in the year ahead, from showcasing the experiences and perceptions of AIDS from students who've returned from study abroad, to a mini-symposium on AIDS tentatively scheduled for early May. They also feel confident about keeping their current momentum going to last all year and beyond. "We had a lot of people who attended our meeting," Marcus said, "and 16 people came to Washington, which was a really cool bonding experience. That's a lot more than the participants at other colleges.
Also, many members are freshmen and Feb freshmen -- we've got the ball rolling." Five young people are affected with the HIV virus every minute. As the clock ticks for them, here's hoping that this national campaign will affect positive change - and that students at Middlebury will be able to play a part.