HUNTINGTON BEACH : College Club Pushes Education on AIDS
The newly formed Gay and Lesbian Associated Students club at Golden West College on Wednesday will attempt to educate people about all aspects of the AIDS disease.
The club’s activities are part of an early commemoration of World AIDS Day, college officials said. The events, which are free and open to the public, will be held outdoors, on the Student Center Patio, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“World AIDS Day is Dec. 1, and Golden West College’s event is to commemorate all those who are suffering from and those who have died of AIDS,” said college staff member Monique Maschhaupt, adviser for the Gay and Lesbian Students.
Maschhaupt said the student organization will provide information about where people can be tested free to see if they have been infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The group also will disseminate free condoms and educational material about prevention of the deadly disease.
While all of the activities on Wednesday are free, some of the club members will be seeking donations for AIDS hospices in Orange County. Hospices are care facilities for terminally ill patients.
Maschhaupt said that interest in AIDS material has picked up since basketball star Magic Johnson announced he has been infected with the virus that causes AIDS.
“It’s almost 10 years too late, but now people are learning that this is not just a homosexual disease,” she said.
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