Every minute, about 10 people contract the HIV virus worldwide, according to the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Student organizations, fueled by this alarming statistic and other facts, launched A Week 4 Life [AW4L] 11 years ago to educate students about HIV/AIDS prevention and the impact that it has had domestically and worldwide.

“Our aim is to remove the stigma from HIV,” said Thomas Spann, program director of the Red Cross prevention in Miami-Dade and the Keys. “Once we start talking about it, people can get help.”

The week kicked off with Pandemic Movies in the residential colleges highlighting the effect of AIDS in Thailand, Brazil and Uganda.

An informational AIDS forum was held Tuesday night to inform students about statistics and research and to prompt student discussion about their concerns.

Panelists included Dr. Karen Wyche, associate professor of the psychology department, sophomore T

TODAY
A Week 4 Life invites you to participate in the first annual “Ball 4 Da Cause” three-on-three basketball tournament benefiting Care Resources at the Wellness Center.

Come by the Rock at 2 p.m. as the chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha hosts the Yard Show in celebration of Alpha Week 2004.

Alpha Kappa Psi will be hosting a Brother Auction from 12 to 2 p.m. in the UC Patio. Proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society.

Come test your limits at Extreme Freaky Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Rat. Plenty of free food will be available and there are prizes involved, so venture to be a winner!

Applications for the chair and vice-chair positions for Fun Day 2005 are due by 5 p.m. in the Volunteer Services Center [UC 240].

SATURDAY
Join in on fun as Up Till Dawn hosts its finale event to benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. in the UC. Contact Billy Bludgus at b.bludgus@umiami.edu for more information.

COSO presents Canes Challenge: Rumble on the Green, a field day for student organizations, at 10 a.m. on the UC Green.

Come down to the Rat as A Week 4 Life hosts a GLOW Party from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Pass by the Rock at 5 p.m. for a Founder’s Day Bar-B-Q hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha in honor of Alpha Week 2004.

SUNDAY APRIL 18
Lace up your walking shoes and come join A Week 4 Life’s 16th annual AIDS WALK from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. For more information, call 305-284-4483.

MONDAY APRIL 19
Come by the UC Patio from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. as Women’s Health Awareness Week hosts its carnival kickoff. Later on at 7 p.m. pass by the Wellness Center for a fitness assessment as well as a free gift certificate for a facial.

TUESDAY APRIL 20
Come by the Rock from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. for the “Love is Love” mock-marriage ceremony held by SpectrUM where anyone (regardless of gender/sexual orientation/ religious persuasion) can get “married.”

Come join the law students in the Faculty Conference Room in the Law School at 7 p.m. as they host a seminar addressing the Caribbean’s progress towards meeting the points set out in the 1929 manifesto of Marcus Garvey, the founder of the first political party in Jamaica.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21
The Cinematic Arts Commission presents “Big Fish” at the Cosford Cinema at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Admission is FREE with Cane Card.

THURSDAY APRIL 22
In honor of Earth Day, the Association of Commuter Students members will hand out raffle tickets for several $20 dollar Citgo gas cards starting at 7:30 a.m. in the Pavia Garage. Be one of the first 25 cars carpooling to school and you and your passenger each get a chance to win in the drawing.

Come by the UC patio from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. for Patio Jams: Unison. For more information, visit www.um-hp.com.

Come hear UM’s Salsa Orchestra as they celebrate their 10th anniversary with a special concert at 8 p.m. at the Maurice Gusman Concert Hall, performing everything from traditional salsa to traditional jazz, Latin jazz, and fusion. For more information call 305-284-5813.

FRIDAY APRIL 23
The deadline for the submission for the Advising Development Center’s two $100 contests is today. For more information, contact Cary Estrada 305-284-2402.

SATURDAY APRIL 24

SUNDAY APRIL 25

MONDAY APRIL 26

TUESDAY APRIL 27
The President’s Lecture Series and the Residential Colleges present: An Evening with Maya Angelou at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center. Stop by the UC Information Desk “Ticket Master Window” to pick up your ticket with you Cane Card.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 28
The Cinematic Arts Commission presents “21 Grams” at the Cosford Cinema at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Admission is FREE with Cane Card.

UM honored in Model UN

At the National Model United Nations Conference held in New York last week, a team of 14 UM students won the prestigious “Outstanding Delegation” award. This award is the highest honor granted at the competition, and only six of the 200 schools that participated in the competition received it. Congratulations to the UM team: Christian Wilson (Head Delegate), Nitin Aggarwal, Adele Bagley, Federico Cuadra, Andrea Echevarria, Fabiola Gambiarazo, Seema Gohil, Sebastian Gonzalez, Maisha Kiala, Megan Kinsella, Carlos Llinas, Edith Londono, Altagracia Louissaint and Jessica Piha.

Downloads don’t harm record industry, says study
(U-WIRE) NEW YORK
As the Recording Industry Association of America continues to cite music piracy as the primary cause of its profit slump, a recent study plays a slightly different tune. In a study released March 29, Professors Felix Oberholzer-Gee of Harvard and Koleman Strumpf of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill claim that the effect of music piracy on recording industry revenue is “statistically indistinguishable from zero.” The study further suggests that “while downloads occur on a vast scale, most users are likely individuals who would not have bought the album even in the absence of file sharing.” Amy Weiss, the RIAA’s senior vice president of communications, called the study an “interesting contribution to the literature,” but stated in a press release that “the results are inconsistent with virtually every other study done by academics and research analysts about the impact of illegal file-sharing.”

Lands’ End caves to college labor demands
(U-WIRE) NEW YORK
Just months after Columbia University severed its contract with clothing manufacturer Lands’ End, the brand has pledged to make up for some of the labor law violations that lost it Columbia’s business. Columbia ended Lands’ End’s contract as a licensee of the university in response to charges of blacklisting in its El Salvador supplier factory, as well as a serious breech the company’s contract with Columbia. Providing $53,000 in machinery and materials as well as 100 hours of expert advice, Lands’ End will help the first union-friendly factory in the history of El Salvador’s export apparel industry get off the ground. The new factory “Just Garments” is the first in the history of the export apparel industry in El Salvador to sign a contract with a union. The victory for El Salvadoran labor, negotiated through the Workers Rights Consortium and the Fair Labor Association, is also a victory for the Columbia chapter of SEEJ, Students for Environmental and Economic Justice.

The new 2004 ‘Canes Film Festival T-shirts have arrived! T-shirts can be purchased for $10 at the Motion Picture Office in the School of Communication in room 4024.

John Kerry, Senator and expected democratic nominee for the 2004 Presidential election, will be coming to campus this Sunday at 1:45 p.m. on the Rock. This year, college students – notoriously apathetic when it comes to politics – are expected to have more of an impact in elections.

The Hurricane participated in a conference call with Kerry last Tuesday, during which Kerry discussed the role of college students in this year’s election, as well as his plans to increase college affordability.

“We need to make some of the issues that matter to people some of the voting issues again,” Kerry said.

He also touched on issues concerning unemployment rates, healthcare and Social Security.

“We want students to begin to recognize their power in helping to decide the outcome of this election,” Kerry said. “Young people have this enormous power and they really have to understand and embrace it.”

According to a nationwide survey from Harvard University, college students have the potential to be the “swing vote” in the 2004 presidential election. Fifty-nine percent of the 1,200 undergraduate students surveyed said they would “definitely be voting” in the election, while 27 percent said they will “probably” vote.

Thirty-two percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 voted in the 2000 election, and it’s expected that more will come out and vote this year.

UM students recently had the chance to vote for a presidential candidate in mock elections held by the Council for Democracy and the College Republicans. Kerry captured 55.2 percent of the 212 votes, while George W. Bush received 35.4 percent of the votes. Ralph Nader took 6.12 percent of the votes.

Currently, there are three voting precincts near the UM campus: West Laboratory School, St. Augustine Catholic Church and the UM Convocation Center, recently added as a voting site for the upcoming presidential election.

The ongoing Get Out the Vote campaign has thus far registered 866 UM students to vote through their registration drives, competitions and tables set up at most politically-oriented events on campus.

“We are just going to make sure we voice our opinions through voting,” Mike Johnston, director of Get Out the Vote, said. “If you don’t get out and vote, then I don’t think you have any right to complain about it.”

Also, in order to partake in presidential debate events, students are going to have to show either a voter registration card or their international visas.

In the last presidential elections, out of more than 20,000 registered Coral Gables residents, 10,042 actually voted. According to Johnston, the 3,000 UM students who are Coral Gables residents theoretically represent a third of the voting population. The 18 to 21-year-old age group is nationally the most underrepresented population of voters.

“If you can get all of the college campuses involved, that’s huge,” Ankita Desai, freshman, said. “You can really make a difference with that.”

Megha Garg can be contacted at m.garg2@umiami.edu.