The chance of someone between the ages of 13 and 24 getting HIV increased 42 percent between 2000 and 2004, according to the Center for Disease Control.
To raise awareness of the issues involved with HIV and AIDS, faculty from the Amelia T. Wood Health Center, along with several student organizations, have arranged a campus-wide commemoration of World AIDS Day today.
Activities include free HIV testing, an HIV digital kiosk, a film and discussion session, a play and a movie on Channel 55, health educator Lisa Thomason said.
"It can be a really beneficial slate of events," Thomason said.
The HIV testing will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Health Center Room 206, she said. The test uses an oral swab device and takes about 20 minutes. It is a painless way to test for HIV antibodies in collected cells, she said.
"Even people who are 'needle-phobic' can get tested," Thomason said. "It's a good idea to get tested if you've ever had unprotected sex or used injection drugs."
The tests have an accuracy rate of more than 90 percent, but if a person tests positive, a second test will be performed to confirm the results, Thomason said.
The Ball State University Museum of Art will be screening "Sea in the Blood" and sponsoring a discussion session with refreshments from noon to 1 p.m,, curator of education Tania Said said. The film is about artist Richard Fung's life with two blood diseases, including HIV, she said.
"It's not the traditional narrative," Said explained. "It's more like a video painting about the artist's life."
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