The Student Activities Office held an AIDS Crisis Day Friday with six events running from 10 a.m. through the evening to raise awareness for the worldwide pandemic that has already claimed the lives of 20 million people.
The day was originally slated to include two screenings of Robert Bilheimer's film "A Closer Walk" and a book-and-author luncheon with Greg Behrman, author of "The Invisible People: How the U.S. Has Slept Through the Global AIDS Pandemic, the Greatest Humanitarian Catastrophe of Our Time."
Behrman, however, could not make it to Hanover due to inclement weather in New York. The day's events were adjusted as a result.
Linda Kennedy, director of student activities, called on Kirk Friedrich, managing director of Grassroot Soccer to deliver comments that Behrman sent via e-mail earlier Friday.
Behrman said his book, "The Invisible People," aims to question what has been done to address the AIDS pandemic, a question he asked himself while doing AIDS research.
"I don't think there is one country in the world that has done everything they can," Friedrich said.
Friedrich also discussed his experiences during a recent trip to Southern Africa from which he returned Thursday. Friedrich's organization, Grassroot Soccer, trains local soccer players and other role models in Africa to go into schools and teach children about the dangers of AIDS.
Friedrich also spoke about the obstacles he encountered while working with AIDS in Africa recently. Although the Bush administration's monetary aid to Africa is crucial in fighting AIDS there, Friedrich said, limitations on condom education are detrimental.
Bilheimer, an Academy-Award nominee for documentary filmmaking, presented his film "A Closer Walk" at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. with a question and answer session following the earlier showing.
"I think that AIDS exists in two extremes -- of suffering on one hand and indifference on the other. I think we need to close that gap," Bilheimer said.
Bilheimer also spoke at a lecture in Collis Commonground and a Filmmaker's Roundtable in the Collis Center. The day also featured a community service fair featuring both campus and local organizations including the Christopher Campaign, Unicef and the Dartmouth Coalition for Global Health.
Kennedy developed the idea for AIDS Crisis Day after seeing Bilheimer's film last year. She then contacted Bilheimer and invited him to speak at Dartmouth.
According to James Turner '04, who works in the Student Activities Office and organized the event, the rest of the day was organized around Bilheimer's talk.
Although the day is not scheduled annually, Turner hopes to see aspects of the day revisited by the Dartmouth community.
"Though this was a one-time sort of event, I wouldn't be surprised if aspects of it show up during future terms or during orientation week," he said.
Overall, Turner was pleased with how the day unfolded.
"I'm not sure I would have changed a thing," he said. "The one thing we're always continuing to work towards is getting more students involved, more information disseminated."
