Students in the sociology course “AIDS in Society” at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC) partnered with Arts for AIDS, a Columbus organization, for a spectacular evening of song and stories in observation of World AIDS Day 2014. 

“The efforts of bringing World AIDS Day to the attention of our community took on a broader audience,” said Cindy Chapman, a member of Arts for AIDS and liaison to Mathew Rusike Children's Home in Zambabwe, “with the involvement of Aimee and the IUPUC students in the Arts for AIDS event.”  

The December 4th event, held at The Commons, raised over $13,000.  The funds raised have been distributed between five international organizations: the Baobab Home Orphanage in Tanzania, The Granny Connection in Zambia, the Mathew Rusike Children's Home in Zambabwe, Konbit in Haiti, and Imani Workshops in Kenya. 

The class, taught by Aimee Zoeller a lecturer in sociology at IUPUC, examined the HIV/AIDS epidemic from a sociological perspective. Students explored how social factors have shaped the course of the epidemic and the experience of HIV disease. The discussion included a look at the impact of the epidemic on health care, government, and other social institutions.

List of IUPUC students in attendance at the event:

Bartholomew County

• Columbus: Camille Marie Carson
• Columbus: Emily J. Darlage
• Columbus: Alexandra T. Fry
• Columbus: Andrew D. Liberati
• Columbus: Heather Dawn Patterson
• Hope: Allison Nicole Drake

Decatur County

• Greensburg: Brandon Buren Million
• Greensburg: Ashley Toler
• St. Paul: Noah Jacob Hinkle

Jackson County

• Seymour: Alana Maci Desender
• Seymour: Brookelyn Nicole Dilldine
• Seymour: Sara D. Dilldine

Johnson County

• Edinburgh: Perre Jo Dunbar
• Edinburgh: Ashley Dawn Melson
• Trafalgar: Erin May Burkman

Shelby County

• Shelbyville: Sarah Harvey
• Shelbyville: Jennifer Marie Taylor

For more information on the liberal arts program at IUPUC, please visit www.iupuc.edu/academics/divisions-programs/liberal-arts/.