Poet plans AIDS awareness event

AIDS, dynamic, Issue 13, Katie O'Brien, News, News - By Katie O'brien on Thursday, December 8, 2011 - 05:05

“Ignorance is not bliss,” junior Davia Ann-Marie Lamey said. Whittier’s Villalobos Hall held an intimate gathering of students and members of the community this past Thursday, Dec. 1, as three HIV-positive guest panel speakers gave their heart-wrenching stories about how living with AIDS has affected the course of their daily lives in honor of World AIDS Day. The eager young minds of attentive students quietly sat and heard Lori White, Cody Encile and Ralph Guitierrez all give the inside look of how their life has taken a dramatic turn because of AIDS.

Accompanied with his skull cane in hand, Guitierrez, the eldest speaker, emphasized how simple it is to prevent AIDS by simply using a condom. White expressed her story of how a trusting and loving relationship can be victimized by AIDS through lies and heartbreak.

“Hearing their stories was interesting; Lori’s shocking [story] made me think twice because I’m in a relationship and I don’t know what I would do if that happened to me,” sophomore Sabrina Viramontes said. Encile’s story of finding acceptance within the gay community can be a struggle, but having the opportunity to retell his story allows him to educate others.

Brightly colored in a banner that read “AIDS DAY”, the Rock was surrounded by students and community members in flamboyantly colored scarves with small lit candles held tightly in hand. The memorial service was held commemorating the lives which have been taken by AIDS and celebrating the power of awareness to the campus.

Lamey was in charge of choreographing the event as part of her INTD 018 Advanced Leadership Practicum course. “This project allows you to create a purpose and bring awareness on campus,” Lamey said. She has been diligently planning this awareness event since the beginning of September-constantly making calls and setting up all the details, discovering what it takes to put on an event on campus and which portals needed to go through in order to get approval.

“It takes a lot of planning and time management,” Lamey said. “I recommend [the class] to anyone.” Organizations that supported Lamey’s project with their attendance included the Ionion Society, the Rio Hondo AIDS Project and Students In Free Enterprise.

“I wanted to take [the AIDS memorial project] to another level... It puts things in perspective, I want to go to law school and this class teaches you to persevere,” Laney said.
This one credit course may not correlate to the amount of effort Lamey displayed through the event, but it facilitates how the classroom can incorporate real issues like AIDS to bring more awareness to campus.

“I didn’t really know much about AIDS before this,” Viramontes said. Lamey’s efforts in bringing AIDS Day to life on campus reminds students that they have the opportunity to make change nonetheless.