To keep students informed about AIDS and how to avoid it, several NIU groups have teamed up for an Awareness Day at the Homes Student Center.

Today, several guest speakers will be on hand to talk about the disease in the Heritage Room from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

NIU’s AIDS Awareness Day, co-sponsored by the Health Enhancement Center, the Student Association for Minority Relations, and the Gay-Lesbian Union is geared toward college students to offer tips on safe sex and preventative measures.

Carol Sibley, Communicable Disease Control nurse at the Health Enhancement Center, said she will be speaking about AIDS testing at NIU, costs and counseling sessions.

AIDS tests identify the presence of the virus that causes the disease. A positive test does not necessarily mean the person will develop AIDS.

“There are many people who don’t know enough about the disease,” said Lisa Gunn, Student Association welfare adviser. “There is a stigma attached to it (AIDS), and we’re trying to decrease that stigma on this campus.”

Two films about AIDS, “AIDS-A Decision for Life” and “People Like Us,” will be shown at various times in the Heritage Room.

Also, a brochure advising about safe sex and preventative measures will be available.

Gunn described the brochure as “graphic in its description about what is unsafe (and) one of the best brochures on the topic.”

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a fatal virus that attacks the body’s immune system, making the victim more susceptible to sickness and disease. The AIDS victim does not die of the virus itself, but rather the illnesses that accompany the virus.

Those most exposed to the virus are homosexual males, intravenous drug users who share needles, and prostitutes. Although these people have the greatest chance of getting AIDS, people outside these groups are by no means excluded from the danger. AIDS, however is not spread by casual contact.

A representative from the GLU said AIDS is no longer a disease for homosexuals, as once thought, and everyone must be made aware of the facts about the disease.