PIERCE COLLEGE : AIDS Week Gets Unexpected Help

AIDS Awareness Week, which was kicked off Monday at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, received some unexpected assistance from Magic Johnson.

With Johnson’s announcement that he has contracted the human immunodeficiency virus--HIV--drawing more attention than ever to the deadly disease AIDS, interest in the biannual event at Pierce also is expected to increase, organizers said.

“It’s not a blessing for him certainly, but it makes our job a lot easier,” said Kevin Kopas, Pierce Media Center director and AIDS Awareness Committee co-chairman. “The fact that he released this information and Monday we start AIDS Awareness Week . . . is a big benefit to us because all of a sudden there is this heightened awareness.”

Colleen Rooney, a Pierce counselor and committee co-chairwoman, said that Johnson’s announcement will help “awaken the heterosexual and minority communities” to acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

The event, sponsored by the Pierce Associated Students Organization, will feature speeches and performances. Free literature on acquired immune deficiency syndrome and condoms will be distributed throughout the week.

“We see this as a very worthwhile cause because more and more it’s affecting students,” said Chandra Pesheck, student body president.

“Our goal is to make the information available so students can protect themselves,” Kopas said.

More than 2,100 condoms and more than 10,000 pieces of information, including cards and flyers, will be distributed between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. today through Friday at a booth on the campus mall.

Performing artists will present pieces aimed at heightened awareness of the AIDS epidemic through drama, music and humor at noon today in the college’s Campus Center.

Speakers from AIDS Project Los Angeles, Sharon Lund and clinical psychologist Steven Lowe, both of whom are infected with the virus, will discuss how the disease has affected their lives at 7 p.m. Wednesday, also in the Campus Center.

The events are open to the public at no charge.