Making global AIDS a priority for the 2004 presidential elections was the topic of last night's speech in front of a small crowd in 111 Chambers.

"The numbers for AIDS are so huge that it's hard to conceptualize them," said Danae McElroy, an organizer for the Student Global AIDS Campaign. "It's like trying to count the number of stars in the sky; it's just too hard to conceptualize."

Over 8,500 people will die from AIDS and another 14,200 will become infected daily, she said.

McElroy encouraged students to take this information and use it to inform others on campus and around the community.

"Pennsylvania is a swing state meaning there are going to be two candidates fighting for the vote of this
state," McElroy said. "People in this room can change everything in [the election]."

Politicians have even stated that AIDS is the single greatest threat to national security, she said.

"Sixty years ago civil rights was the crisis of our grandparents, 80 to 100 years ago women's rights was the crisis for our great-grandparents," McElroy said. "We now face the biggest health emergency and ours happens to be the most important in our country."

One student said she joined the AIDS Project, 315 S. Allen Street, because of the importance of educating people on this subject.

"There are so many people that are ignorant about AIDS, and it isn't their fault," said Caitlin Cassidy (sophomore-theatre and secondary education).

"AIDS isn't a huge deal here, but it should be."

Christine Mac Aulay, president and founder of the Penn State Global AIDS Initiative, said it is really important for students to learn about AIDS and its effects.

"The numbers [of people with AIDS] is overwhelming and we really want people to know that they can do something about it," Mac Aulay said. "This is a crisis of politics and it doesn't have to be this way."

McElroy said contacting elected officials and taking part in the 2004 campaign is a step in the right direction.

"[Politicians] don't care and about this pandemic and that is what should make all of us outraged," she said. "American's do care about this so we have the power to make this an election issue."

McElroy told the audience she had taken her parents to the Vietnam memorial in Washington, D.C., and realized that the U.S. lost 58,000 people over the 10 years of war.

"The amount of people that were lost in ten years are lost every single week due to HIV/AIDS," she said. "People don't even bat an eye about repeating the Vietnam War about every seven days."

More than one in 200 college students have AIDS, McElroy said.

"Forty-two million people are currently infected with AIDS and AIDS is only in beginning stages," McElroy said. "HIV is in its beginning stages, and it's not going to peak for another 30 or 40 years."

Kevin Brehm (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies) said he could not believe that AIDS was only in the beginning stages.

"I also didn't know about the AIDS campaign for the 2004 election, and it seems like it could be a real benefit," Brehm said. "This just really invigorated me to go out and make a difference."

Brehm and Mac Aulay, who are members of Global Initiative and are involved in the organizing of AIDS Day that will be in early December.

"We're really hoping it raises awareness, and that it motivates and impels people to take action," Mac Aulay said.