Clarion 2006-02-09 Vol. 81 No. 14

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BETHEL   UNIVERSITY
Thursday, February 9, 2006
http://bethelnet.bethel.edu/darion
Volume 81 • Number 14
Students react to the global AIDS crisis
'Acting on AIDS' conference aimed to create
awareness on college campuses
By Elise Toedt
A group of seven Bethel
students, along with student
participants from over 40 campuses, attended the first annual
Acting on AIDS conference held
at Taylor University this past
weekend.
"Acting on AIDS," stated
Lisa Krohn, co-founder and
conference organizer, "is a program started by college students
to create awareness and activism
of the global AIDS pandemic at
colleges and universities across
the nation." Through World
Vision, students have created
a network of Acting on AIDS
chapters that seek to open others to a heartfelt realization of
the pandemic, spread awareness
within their communities, and
advocate for those who are suffering at the hands of the AIDS
pandemic.
Schools participating
ranged from Wheaton and
Northwestern to the University
of Illinois.
"The purpose of this conference", said Krohn, "is first that
Courtesy photos
students connect with others
and build relationships in order
to create a national network,
and second to educate students
about the disease and also what
practical things their campus
can do."
In order to both educate
students and create a network,
the conference consisted of all-
group meetings and also breakout sessions that discussed a variety of topics. Topics included
awareness, political advocacy,
prevention, and the church's
involvement. Brainstorming
sessions were also held so that
students could share ideas for
how to take action on their cam-
puses.
Key note speakers included
5teve Haas, vice president of
church relations, World Vision,
and Princess Zulu, World Vision AIDS educator who herself
is HIV positive.
Attending Bethel studenis
are enthusiastic to see what will
come out of the conference.
One of the student founders of
*••>
Bethel's chapter, Alison Rougas,
said, "God has shown me He
can use me now as a college student. 1 don't have to wait until 1
get older to change what is happening in the world. I can start
today; 1 can start now."
Consistent with the spirit
of the conference, Belhel students feel that action on their
part is necessary. A key verse of
the conference was I John 3:18:
"My dear brothers, let us love
not with words or tongue, but
with actions and in truth." It is
the goal of students involved
with Acting on AIDS to be active in modeling Christ's earthly
ministry by helping the poor
and neglected of the world.
Student Lauren Tomasik,
also a~sTudent Tounder of the
Bethel chapter, stated very clearly her reasons for involvement
in the AIDS crisis. She said, "In
Scripture God commands us
to serve the poor. This is our
Christian responsibility. In the
world, AIDS is one of the largest crises; arguably the largest
humanitarian crisis in our generation. When you combine the
command to help the poor and
this need for those who have
AIDS, how can we nol pick it
up and run with it?"
Bethel students left the
conference excited to return
and begin Bethel's Acting on
AIDS chapter full throttle. They
hope to put into practice what
ihey have learned and collaborate with existing organizations
in order to fight the AIDS pandemic.
Upcoming events include
an awareness dinner in March
highlighting women in Africa
with AIDS (in collaboration with
Women's history nWnlnToOrdi-
nators), and a Mr. BU pageant
fundraising event in April.
Bethel celebrates
Black History Month
By Stephanie Johnson
February is the month
America observes Black History Month. Beginning as "Negro History Week" in 1926, the
numerous contributions that
blacks have made to American society have been nationally recognized throughout the
month. Bethel students and
staff join together and work to
raise awareness around campus
of the impact that blacks have
made in our history culture,
and technology.
One notable event occurring this month is the Gospel
Concert, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. in Benson
Great Hall. The concert features
a large variety of music, from
hip-hop to gospel. Other events
of the night include poetry and
drama. Invitations were extended to both Northwestern and
North Central earlier this week,
and, in the words of Sandie McNeel, a coordinator of the event,
"It will be a fun, lively, and worshipful experience."
Another event taking place
in Benson is the performance
of "Black Eagle" by the Mixed
Blood Theater on Thursday,
Feb. 23. The show profiles Dr.
Ronald McNair, the black doctor aboard the hapless space
shuttle, the Challenger. Tickets
for both the Gospel Concert and
the Mixed Blood Theater can be
purchased at the box office.
Beginning this week, United Cultures of Bethel (UCB), a
student-run BU multicultural
organization, have placed a new
poster around campus every
day. Each new poster displays an
important black figure that has
impacted American society. On
Wednesday, Feb. 22, UCB will
be distributing red, black, and
green ribbons to raise awareness
of the impact that blacks have
made.
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Touched hearts taught humility
Bethel hosted first Community Outreach Day
By Monique Champeau
Over 250 students gave
their lime, energy, and hearts
Jan. 13 lo participate in Bethel's
first-ever Community Outreach
Day. They spent time working
at 26 sites throughout the cities, working with children and
seniors, stocking food shelves,
and cleaning and painting
church buildings.
While making their work
sites iheir places of worship,
students learned firsthand about
the physical and spiritual needs
of the community.
"I was blessed by the people there. Their enthusiasm
and joy for life were incredible.
1 thought this was going to be
hard to do, but God has led
me to amazing places, and I've
seen the need in ihis city," said
Anna Watsabaugh, who volunteered at Friday Night Lights, a
program for adults with special
needs.
Ceciwa Khondowe talked
about the realization she had
while working at Feed my
Starving Children in Minneapo-
"The goal is for the entire
campus eventually to take a day
and do a service project: from
the president on down."
-Donna Johnson
#  If
esypbo
lis. She pleaded thai "For every
minute 1 complain, there's a
child rejoicing because he found
food in a dumpster somewhere.
For every minute I complain
lhat I don't know what clothes
to wear, there's a kid walking
naked somewhere."
Another group paired with
the Marie SandvicU Center to
hand out meals and clothing
to the homeless community
downtown. Marybeth Gay, the
site director, talked about her
own experience with the organization. She said, "Who am I?
1 am nobody! But God is using
us. He's gol a plan for each of
us to get oul there and get dirty.
It might nol always be fun.   Ii
might nol always be easy. But in
it, He wants us to step out of our
comfort zones. Guys, dig deep.
God's got something special for
each one of you."
Based on a series of previous chapels and a general thirst
to help the community directly,
lhe event was a huge success. It
was inspired by Philippians 2,
which says, "Do nothing out of
selfish ambition or vain conceit,
but in humility consider others
belter than yourselves. Each
of you should look not only to
your own interests, but also to
the interesis of others." The
activity encouraged sludents to
look past their own agendas and
reach out to a community of
people that is often overlooked.
"There are other institutions that do this. They sacrifice
a day and put il towards where
there is a need. The goal is for
the entire campus eventually
to take a day and do a service
project: from the president on
down," said Donna Johnson,
campus pastor and director of
this year's event.
Though this is the first year
Bethel has offered such an opportunity for students to get
involved in the community, the
Campus Ministries staff is work
ing hard to make it a larger, annual event. For the time being,
students are encouraged to gel
involved with Twin Cities Outreach, which has many openings at a variety of locations for
spring semester. Please contact
the office of Campus Ministries
for more information on how to
get involved.
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