Organizing World AIDS Day on a College Campus
Colin is a member of the Campus Organizing Team
 World AIDS Day has been observed on December 1st every year since 1988. On this day governments, international organizations, and charities recognize the pandemic that is HIV/AIDS. More than 25 million people have died of AIDS, and currently over 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS; there is no known cure.
I am the 2007 World AIDS Day organizer on the campus of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. Kent Ohio is a suburban area with a population of 30,000. The nearest city is Akron, and the nearest major city, Cleveland is 40 miles north. Kent State University has a student population of over 30,000, with 22,000 of these students attending our main campus, and 6,000 of these students living on our campus. Of the 22,000 students who attend our main campus, 61 percent are female and 86 percent are Caucasian.
When you are planning an awareness campaign it is important to know your target audience. For World AIDS Day my target audience was the student population of Kent State. By knowing that the majority of the student population is commuting Caucasian females, I could craft my advertising, messaging, and programming to fit their needs. An example of tailoring messages for this specific audience was focusing on women’s health issues. Most importantly I noted that commuter students often do not schedule classes for Fridays, and therefore, our campus is not densely populated Friday-Sunday.
Once you have selected your target audience you must assess their needs. A needs assessment can be formal or informal. A formal assessment may involve data collection from your audience; data from a different population would be inferential and therefore less reliable. I did not have the time, nor the resources, to conduct a survey of my target population; rather I based my needs assessment off of national, state, and preexisting campus data and what has appeared in campus publications.
The data I obtained revealed that college students are fully aware of the severity of sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS, but they have an extremely low level of perceived susceptibility. This is better known as the “Not me” phenomenon. This low level of perceived susceptibility persists despite the presence of numerous risk factors. A January 2007 survey of Kent State students revealed that 70 percent do not regularly use condoms.
I knew that I needed to increase awareness of susceptibility, and also raise awareness of the effectiveness of condom use as a preventative method against STI’s and HIV/AIDS. These messages could not distract from the overall global message of World AIDS Day: “Stop AIDS, Keep the Promise – Leadership.” “Keep the Promise – Leadership” refers to international commitments from governments and international non-profits to HIV/AIDS prevention, relief, and research. For this reason it was important to maintain a global perspective and to advocate for political solutions, specifically revisions to the United States funding of the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
One person can not organize such a large event; it takes a coalition of committed people with complimentary skills. I enlisted the assistance of a campus coalition I had previously formed for the purposes of advocating for Comprehensive Sexuality Education, a related issue. The coalition consists of 7 student groups, 2 campus departments, 1 community resource, and Advocates For Youth.
The student group’s main contribution was labor, staffing tables, disseminating information and ribbons, and helping during preparation. One particularly skilled advertising major volunteered to lead our marketing campaign.
The Office of Student Health Promotion provided over 1,000 condoms and information pamphlets. They also made arrangements for internationally recognized HIV/AIDS expert Dr. Diane Kerr to give a one hour presentation in our 450 seat campus auditorium. The department of Adult, Counseling, Health, and Vocational Education, of which Dr. Kerr is the Program Coordinator, provided advisement and consultation. Planned Parenthood of Kent also provided us with condoms.
The coalition agreed that certain activities would be given first priority for scheduling purposes and that Thursday November 29th would be Kent State’s World AIDS Day. Dr. Kerr’s Thursday speech was booked first - not only was her event expected to be at capacity, but the space is in high demand and must be reserved far in advance. Another student group reserved the same space for later on Thursday for a screening of, “And the Band Played On”. An awareness march was scheduled to directly follow Dr. Kerr’s presentation.
The Office of Student Health Promotion arranged for anonymous HIV testing the Monday of World AIDS Week. One student group would table in our student center Wednesday-Friday disseminating information, ribbons, and condoms. Students almost always accept condoms, but rarely except pamphlets; for this reason we packaged condoms and pamphlets together in bags. We organized a food and clothing drive to benefit a local HIV/AIDS outreach center. The food drive was over a span of three weeks with receptacles placed in academic halls. The clothing drive was two weeks long, and receptacles were placed in residence halls. The thought behind the two different locations was this: college professors have food to spare, college students have clothing to spare.
An all day, “bodiless die-in”, with clothing standing in for protestors, was scheduled for our campuses main plaza to raise awareness of the daily death toll of HIV/AIDS in the United States. The die-in was bodiless due to two factors: one, it is difficult to get enough people to lay on the ground for an extended period of time, and two, the estimated temperature outside was 36 degrees. The clothing donated through our clothing drive was used for our die in, then laundered, and donated to the local HIV/AIDS outreach center. A die-in catches attention, but you must then provide information to students about how they can get involved. Advocates For Youth provided us with bright red t-shirts which increased our visibility while disseminating information, condoms, and having students sign petitions.
This was how my campus raised awareness for World AIDS day. You can plan successful events on your campus, too!
I’m not an expert on HIV/AIDS how do I make information packets, pamphlets, and handouts?
There is no reason to reinvent the wheel; all of this information can be obtained through your campus’ Office of Health Promotion, local Planned Parenthood, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website, or through Advocates For Youth. Remember to check your information so that it meets the needs of your target audience. A pamphlet on the HPV vaccine would not be appropriate on an all male campus. Readability is also important: scientific jargon, large paragraphs, and small font are to be avoided. The information must be simple yet powerful, a startling statistic, or a personal story from a member of your campus works well.
We have no money, what can we do?
This is the exact purpose of founding a large coalition. Your campus Office of Health Services can usually provide free condoms, if not, ask a local Planned Parenthood. Businesses are often enthusiastic about getting involved in World AIDS Day. This could include asking the local grocery store to provide refreshments for your activities. Many corporations are strong supporters of World AIDS Day - thank you Starbucks of Kent for two straight years of $1000 donations! Advocates For Youth or Campus Progress can assist you in booking an expert speaker. Your student government will also provide funding; just remember to request funding well in advance and to leave out any political content. Above all I must quote Winston: “Money is a resource, not an outcome”.
I have no experience in planning large scale events
Neither did I! This is yet another function of forming a large coalition. University Departments and professors have experience, but no time. Work with these more experienced people. As students we lack money, and experience, but we do have time and passion. Time is ultimately the most valuable resource, and if you have passion, you will find time.
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