THE DAILY COUGAR Same ole Bill: Maher’s ‘Religulous’ lands on DVD shelves /LIFE & ARTS
TODAY’S WEATHER
Coach: ‘We need to play our kind of basketball’ /SPORTS
3-day forecast, Page 2
Hi 82 Lo 56
Friday, February 27, 2009
Issue 102, Volume 74
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www.thedailycougar.com
Group educates students on HIV Anti-stigma symposium to increase awareness, teach tolerance By Melanie Pang THE DAILY COUGAR Being diagnosed with HIV is a harsh reality to face, but fighting HIV stigma is a battle unto itself. At the HIV Anti-Stigma Day Symposium, Live Consortium Inc. will be teaching students about the virus as well as how to help our peers cope and improve the quality of their lives. The symposium will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., March 10 in the Houston Room, University Center. The event will focus on the college mentality toward HIV, explain why social fears and HIV don’t belong together and ask students, “Would my friends tell me … could I tell them?” “Your friends are supposed to love you the most, and care for you the most, and I think you’re scared of what they’re going to think about you because you hold them in the highest regard,” said Beau Miller, C.E.O. and founder of LIVE Consortium, Inc., an anti-stigma
non-profit organization in Houston. “You don’t want to lose your friends, right?” LIVE Consortium, Inc. is comprised of Houstonians who come together to provide education, information and support so those living with HIV can live a stigmafree, healthy and full life. The UH event is the pilot collaboration for the program and what Miller hopes will become a nationwide effort in spreading the word about the anti-stigma campaign. “HIV awareness is essential to lessening the stigmas attached to the disease as well as providing accurate information that could quite possibly retard the spread simply by people altering their behavior. The Medicine & Society Program is glad to be a part of such a message,” said Helen Valier, coordinator of the UH Medicine and Society Program. Most of the time, a person can contract HIV through drug use, needle sharing, sex or bad blood transfusion, Miller said. However, regardless of the cause of infection,
we all need support. “I don’t want anyone to go through what I’ve gone through, which is having to try to hide it and having our friends not knowing where to go and deal with it,” Miller said. The University Anti-Stigma Campaign is an initiative to educate all college-level students about how HIV stigma affects people from all walks of life. “HIV is not going away anytime soon,” symposium moderator and HIV Specialist Dr. Shannon Schrader said in an e-mail. HIV stigma has existed since the first cases were diagnosed in 1981, when it was considered the “gay plague,” Schrader said. Unfortunately some people still maintain that perception. “On a more medical side, deciding not to inform insurance companies or being discouraged by medications’ side effects may hinder a person’s ability to get treatment,” Schrader said. “Houston has twice
Would you tell your loved ones you had HIV? “Why should I hide it? If you have HIV, the best thing to do is tell your friends. You already got it, why would you want to give it to someone else? That’s what I would do.” — mechanical engineering freshman Alex Cantor “I would say — yes. It would be difficult, but no one should have to go through that alone. And it’s important to raise awareness for things that can sometimes be prevented.” — English junior Danielle Henry “No, I wouldn’t be able to. I would wait awhile before I tell anybody. Let it hit me first. I would tell the person I am dating right away.” — mechanical engineering sophomore Guadalupe Magana “Yes, I would. If I had it, it would be something I would have to tell people because people need to be aware. If someone in my family got it from me through a blood transfusion, I would never be able to forgive myself. So, I would definitely make everybody aware, as shameful and embarrassing as it would be.” — business freshman Nick Tajian “Yes, if I was, I would tell my friends. I would only tell a couple of the friends, not everyone. It’s a secret that you would keep post-guarded. I would tell my best friend and if I was in a long-term relationship, I would tell that person.” — psychology freshman Alicia Ross “Unless they ask, I’m not going to just bring it up or anything. I wouldn’t just bring it up randomly “ — business sophomore Austin Whaley “Yes, I would tell a select group first and as I got more comfortable with it, I would tell more people later on.” - history freshman Cole Anderson
see STIGMA, page 3
Black history events conclude Program offers students a selection of opportunities to experience African culture By Sara Ali THE DAILY COUGAR
YVETTE DAVILA THE DAILY COUGAR
No. 1 Contender ormer unified lightweight champion Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz (above) is a pre-law political science senior at the University of Houston-Downtown. Diaz will box world No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter Juan Manuel Marquez at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Toyota Center for the WBO lightweight championship. Diaz holds a record of 34 wins (17 by way of knockout) and one split decision loss. He is enrolled in his last three classes at UHD and will graduate in May. Accompanying Diaz at his media day Wednesday at UHD was undercard fighter and 2000 Sydney Olympic silver medalist Rocky Juarez (right), who put on a shadowboxing show for those in attendance.
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The UH African-American Studies Program celebrated Black History Month with film festivals and nationally recognized lecturers invited to spread awareness of the Africana experience. “It’s not only us providing speakers for the campus and community, we’re also allowing our students to participate and hear discussions about the
African-American experience around the country,” AAS assistant director Malachi Crawford said. Guest experts invited to speak on the Africana experience and history include Oscar Williams from the State University of New York at Albany and Robert Weems from the University of Missouri. In addition to the lecture series, the program hosted a film festival every Friday of February, see AAS page 8
Clothing drive helps women dress for success By Shruti Purohit THE DAILY COUGAR The Women’s Resource Center is participating in the Dress for Success’ week-long suit drive to collect clothing for low-income women in the job market. Beginning Monday, donors can drop off items from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at either the WRC or Student Services Center 1. Dress for Success is an international n o n - p ro f i t
organization devoted to improving the lives of women everywhere. They provide clothing and support to low-income women so they are able to obtain a successful career. “We have always been a referring agency sending people over to Dress for Success, but this will be the first year that (we) will be participating in their suit drive,” WRC Director Beverly McPhail said. see DRESS page 3