What do you know about AIDS? Well if the answer is not very much or even if it isn't, there is an extremely interesting exhibit of posters compiled by RAID (Responsible Aids Information at Dartmouth) on display in the Collis Commonground all day today and tomorrow.
The Exhibit is called "Art About AIDS" and contains a variety of posters collected from around the world to educate and sensitize people to the HIV/AIDS crisis. The project, coordinated by Reini Jensen '94 and Bart Bingenheimer '94 and sponsored by RAID, has taken a set of about 80 evocative posters of Dr. Edwin Atwater's private collection of over 1,500.
The posters illustrate the unique ways in which groups around the world have tried to educate their communities about AIDS. All of them try to attack a certain area of AIDS awareness they feel is neccesary to proper understanding of HIV and preventive activity. Some encourage safer sex practices; others promote undertanding and acceptance of people with AIDS, while fighting discrimination.
"The posters represent the diverse ways in which different groups of people around the world have sought to educate their communities about HIV and AIDS." Jensen said. "All too often, people in the Dartmouth community - believe that HIV/AIDS does not affect us. But AIDS should be everyone's concern." Each poster varies in its explicitness and while some may be considered rather controversial in ther depiction of homosexuality or HIV prevention, the basic purpose and message is to educate the public through the direct use of pictures.
RAID is a student run peer education group commited to spreading awareness to the Dartmouth community of AIDS. There will be representatives at the exhibit to answer questions or address comments regarding the posters or the AIDS crisis.
