WHO: UNLV is commemorating AIDS Awareness Week 2007 with a series of events with the theme UNLV INSPI(RED), aimed at increasing awareness of HIV and AIDS in our community

WHEN: Monday, Nov. 26 - Monday, Dec. 3

WHERE: At locations throughout the UNLV campus
WHY: In 1981, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its first report of a relatively rare form of pneumonia, later determined to be AIDS. Just more than 25 years later, approximately 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV. World AIDS Day began in 1988 to increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve HIV/AIDS education.
It is estimated that more than 7,000 Nevadans are living with HIV/AIDS. From January to July of this year, Nevada had 264 new reported cases of HIV.
NOTE: Interview opportunities are available with recognized HIV/AIDS experts (please contact Tony Allen at 895-0893 to set up interview):

Dr. Mary Guinan, UNLV Public Health dean and member of the first CDC AIDS Task Force that investigated the emerging AIDS epidemic in 1981.

Dr. Melva Thompson-Robinson, associate professor of public health, is a noted expert in HIV/AIDS research and is co-director for the CDC/ASPH Institute for HIV Prevention Leadership.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Nov. 26- 30: Field of Flags- Large visual display on UNLV's North Field throughout the week to commemorate those living with HIV/AIDS and those who have lost their lives.
Nov. 26-30: AIDS Memorial Quilt Display- From 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day in Student Union Room 224. The AIDS Memorial Quilt was first started in 1987 and is the largest ongoing community arts project in the world. Each "block" of the quilt measures approximately twelve feet square, and a typical block consists of eight individual three foot by six foot panels sewn together. Virtually all of the panels that make up the quilt memorialize the life of a person lost to AIDS.
Nov. 27: Sidewalk Art- From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Alumni Walk (near Lied Library), students, staff, and community members are welcome to support UNLV's AIDS awareness efforts by showing their creativity (with chalk) with positive message or memorial to a lost loved one.
Nov. 30: Fashion with a Passion- From 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom, Fashion with a Passion is a combination fashion show and auction to benefit Aid for AIDS Nevada, a not for profit organization that provides support and advocacy for adults and children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS in southern Nevada.

Dec. 3: World AIDS Day Public Health Awards- The UNLV School of Public Health will honor legislators, community members and agencies responsible for securing the passage of Senate Bill 266 during the 2007 Nevada Legislative Session. The bill ensures that pregnant women receive HIV testing as part of routine prenatal care and receive rapid HIV testing if necessary during childbirth. Pregnant women will also be given a pamphlet explaining HIV, the testing procedures, and their right to opt out of testing. Nevada is the first state to enact new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for the prevention of newborn HIV infection.