For Immediate Release
November 20, 2007

Cañada College Schedules Events to Mark AIDS Awareness Week

Guest speaker, film, and “Sex Olympics” will help educate students about HIV/AIDS and STDs

Cañada College has scheduled four days of activities to mark AIDS Awareness Week and educate students about HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, and the risks associated with unprotected sex.

The events will be held Nov. 26 through Nov. 29 and are sponsored by the Associated Students of Cañada College, the Office of Student Activities, and the Cañada College Health Center. All of the events will be held on the Cañada College campus, 4200 Farm Hill Blvd., Redwood City.

Ongoing during the week, the Health Center will have an AIDS Wall of Remembrance, a place where students can acknowledge friends and loved-ones who have died of AIDS or are living with the disease. The wall will be located in the cafeteria. The college’s honors club will also distribute red ribbons during the week.

The “Sex Olympics” will be held Monday, Nov. 26 from 11 a.m. to noon in the cafeteria. This interactive workshop includes games and demonstrations to give students the truth about sex and sexually transmitted diseases – which STDs exist, symptoms, testing, treatment options, transmission, and ways to decrease the risk of infection. The workshop will also cover definitions and information on HIV transmission, testing, the affect on a person’s immune system, and ways to reduce the risk of infection.

On Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 12:30 p.m. the movie “Life Support” will be shown in the Student Club Lounge. Inspired by a true story, “Life Support” uses a mix of actors and real people from the HIV/AIDS community to tell the story of an HIV-positive Brooklyn woman named Ana, who channels her energy and regret over past drug addiction into working for Life Support, an AIDS outreach group.

Ronnie Grigsby of Positively Speaking Silicon Valley will speak to students on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 10 a.m. in the Student Health Center. Grigsby will speak about his experience before and after receiving a positive HIV diagnosis. He will also share information about AIDS/HIV prevention.

The final events of the week include “Cañada’s Got Talent: The World AIDS Day Talent Show Fundraiser.” The talent show will feature students, staff and faculty at the college performing to raise money for a local non-profit organization. The talent show will be held Thursday, Nov. 29 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Main Theater. An HIV/AIDS outreach worker will be in the cafeteria that day handing out condoms and providing information for students.

For more information, contact Robert Hood, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, at hoodr@smccd.edu or 306-3340