Philip Horowitz is the president of GW’s Student Global AIDS Campaign.
Many people know that D.C.’s HIV rate is higher than many African countries. But that statistic can seem distant, but there are ways you can help.
HIV is one of the largest social and medical issues of our generation. It isn’t just a disease that kids of the 1970s and 1980s needed to cope with – it is our issue now. Fortunately, policymakers and politicians work everyday to combat HIV, but their action isn’t enough. Students need to stick up their fists if anything is to be done.
We’ve seen examples of GW students getting involved with the issue of AIDS prevention before. Student-athletes, who are a part of Grassroot Colonials, volunteer their time by educating local middle school students about HIV and important prevention techniques, such as condom use.
But according to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly one in five people infected with HIV aren’t aware of their illness. As the most politically active students in the country, it’s our responsibility to affect change on a local, national and global level.
Fortunately, it isn’t too difficult to make a difference here in our own city. Local change can occur by attending the 27th annual AIDS Walk this Saturday. The purpose of the walk is to raise money for Whitman-Walker Health Center, which, among other things, provides medical care and free HIV testing to the D.C. community. The center has locations in Northwest D.C. and Anacostia, but also have a mobile unit, which has visited GW’s campus.
But they can’t sustain their mission without our support.
To participate in the walk, all you need to do is pay a $15 entrance fee, with which you get a free t-shirt and breakfast. Other donations are encouraged. And here’s an incentive to donate: All of the proceeds from the AIDS walk go to Whitman-Walker Health so that they can work to end the AIDS epidemic in the District.
In the past, young people have acted to end AIDS. Now, it’s our turn to act up.
Students from GW’s Student Global AIDS Campaign will be meeting in the Multicultural Student Services Center at 7:30 a.m. You can sign up by going to bit.ly/ColonialsFightAIDS2013.
