Dance for the Cure Event Raises HIV/AIDS Awareness

By Ashonda Bethea-Ruth

HIV/AIDS is a worldwide pandemic, but many people forget how close it can hit home. This was the impetus behind Dance for the Cure, an event to raise awareness about the disease help during homecoming week at Bowie State University.

At the event, held in Myers Auditorium in the Martin Luther King Jr. building, arriving guests were handed brown paper bags with a sticker that read: RU you (+) that UR (-). Inside the bag were condoms and a dental dam.

When walking in the double doors there was a fake homeless man sitting with a cup in his hand and a sign on his lap that read: "Let's share friendship. Not HIV/AIDS." Behind him were T-shirts with HIV/AIDS awareness slogans written on them. The shirts were made by students and sold for $8.

The event was also promoted by Seed Public Charter school seniors, who came up on the stage and gave the audience a few HIV/AIDS facts. They also handed out red or blue raffle tickets. The individuals with the red raffles were asked to stand up. Roughly 25 percent of the audience stood up. That number represented the number of people infected with HIV/AIDS in the auditorium.

"Sex with the wrong person, at the wrong time, can end your life," said radio personality Big Daddy Iran of 93.9 WKYS.

Individuals with the blue raffle had the chance to win a prize.

The host of the event was radio personality Ill Will also from WKYS. He kept the event moving through a range of dancing from hip hop to classical to popping to modern. The winners of the completion won $500. The runner-up won $250.

But the event was more than just about dancing. Throughout the event the audience was reminded that people --- especially young, sexually active individuals --- have to be careful about their sexual partners, precautions and risks.

To dance for the cure, one has to know the facts.