LSU to Host HIV/AIDS Awareness Events on Dec. 5

BATON ROUGE – On Wednesday, Dec. 5, LSU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs is partnering with the LSU Office of Health Promotion to raise awareness around the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Baton Rouge community with several events throughout the day. LSU is encouraging everyone to “Geaux Red” by wearing red on that day to increase the visibility and raise awareness of this ongoing epidemic.

HIV and AIDS continue to be a major health concern, particularly in Louisiana and especially in Baton Rouge. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of 2010, Louisiana ranked fourth highest in AIDS case rates nationally. Specifically, the Baton Rouge metropolitan area had the highest AIDS case rate in the United States, while the New Orleans metropolitan area ranked fifth.

Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to attend the free opportunities listed below to learn more about HIV and AIDS:

9 a.m. – 4 p.m.	Get Involved
	Free Speech Plaza LSU encourages students to get involved as a volunteer and join Spectrum; LSU Voices for Planned Parenthood, or VOX; and Sigma Lambda Gamma for the day to pass out information and materials in Free Speech Plaza that will help keep LSU's status “negative.”
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.	Know Your Status
	Student Union, Third Floor, Orleans and Ouchita Rooms LSU Health Promotions is offering free HIV testing. A simple oral swab – no blood, no needles – and you can know your status within 20 minutes.
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.	Educate Yourself
	Student Union, Third Floor, Castillian Room LSU encourages everyone to education himself or herself about what it is like to live and work with HIV. The LSU Office of Multicultural Affairs will present a panel discussion on HIV/AIDS in the Baton Rouge area. There will be guest speakers from across the greater Baton Rouge community who will give their insights into living and working with HIV/AIDS.

LSU’s day of programming to increase HIV/AIDS is being held in conjunction with World AIDS day. Held each year on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day began in 1988 and was the first global health day. According to the World AIDS Day’s website, it is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died.

For more information on these events, or to participate in the “Educate Yourself” panel discussion or volunteer for the “Get Involved” campaign, please contact Chad Freeman, graduate assistant for the LGBTQ Project/Safe Space Campaign in the Office of Multicultural Affairs, at rfreem6@tigers.lsu.edu or by phone at 225-578-4339.