Film, ribbons remind students of the crisis

Students called their colleagues to action against HIV/AIDS at a World AIDS Day event on campus yesterday.

Members of the Association of International Students in Education, Health and Human Services sponsored the presentation.

A dozen attendees viewed the film “Where the Water Meets the Sky.” It follows young women in Zambia who have been impacted by the disease as they learn how to make a film about their life experiences with HIV/AIDS.

Sabina Uzakova, president for the Association of International Students in Education, Health and Human Services, said she got the idea to screen the film for World AIDS Day after someone showed it to her over the summer.

The group also passed out red ribbons to raise awareness.

“By wearing them, we are trying to remember those who have passed away and those who are still fighting,” Uzakova said.

After the film, the audience was asked to discuss what they had seen and why students should be aware of the AIDS crisis.

“I think because of globalization and an interconnectedness, we should think, ‘What if it affects me?'” Uzakova said.

The audience was concerned with the rise in the numbers of those who contract HIV each year and with the apparent lack of concern among students.

“You don’t know anymore if there is somebody with AIDS in Kent,” one audience member said.

Claudia Sander, secretary for the Association of International Students in Education, Health and Human Services, reminded everyone of the people who are struggling with HIV/AIDS.

“The number is not just something on paper, but people who are dying,” she said.

The number of people living with AIDS has reached 33.4 million, Sander said.

Uzakova said she understands students are very busy with the end of the semester but would have liked to see a larger turnout at the film screening.

Contact the College of Education, Health and Human Services reporter Kelley Stoklosa at [email protected].