Holding back tears, Erika Kohoutek shared the story of her stepmother, a wife, mother and survivor of AIDS, as an example showing anyone can become infected with the AIDS virus.

AIDS does not discriminate, people do, she said. It doesn’t matter how you get it, its everyone’s disease and we all have to live with it.

Kohoutek, a junior in English from Chicago, shared the story of her stepmother in honor of World AIDS Day at a candlelight vigil last Friday night. The rally was sponsored by the Southern Illinois Regional Effort for AIDS and numerous campus organizations.

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Kohoutek said the event was a campus-wide effort to eliminate apathy and sterotypes towards a global issue.

AIDS is a universal disease and a universal issue, she said. We wanted to make the rally campus-wide and not just geared toward our group.

A lot of people have it in their head, it’s a gay disease or only the bad people in the world have it, she said. If these people saw my step-mom, they would be surprised.

Richard Morris, a Carbondale city Councilman, issued a proclamation to recognize Dec. 1 as World Aids Day. He said the proclamation shows the city’s support for those living with HIV and AIDS.

The city of Carbondale realizes that AIDS will not go away.

Morris said issuing the proclamation is only a small step to show community support for AIDS education.

It’s not only important to recognize the issue, but the community needs to deal with it continually to educate others, he said.

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A procession of about 160 people marched in silence from the Student Center to Shyrock Auditorium. The candles illuminated the night as eight different speakers presented both statistics and personal experience to the crowd.

Tiffany Ross, a freshman in speech communications from Ohio, said she came to the rally to show her support for people living with HIV,

People need to realize they don’t need first-hand experience to be affected by this disease, she said. AIDS effects everyone because anyone can get it.

Jeff Lucas, co-director of Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals and Friends, said he was impressed by the proclamation issued by Carbondale.

I commend the fact that the city and campus community are recognizing the people in the area that are living and dying with AIDS.

Steven St. Julian, a long term survivor of AIDS, urged the crowd to remember to use protection during sexual intercourse. He said women need to be more assertive when demanding that a sexual partner use a condom.

You can’t see AIDS, he said. Maybe a person has it and doesn’t want to tell anyone, but most likely they don’t know themselves.

Desiree Mills, Wellness Center sexuality coordinator, provided information about the AIDS disease. She said one in every 500 SIUC students may be infected with the HIV virus.

We have a responsibility to help ourselves be safe and prevent ourselves and others from the disease, she said. If I save one person from getting the virus, I will continue to distribute condoms on campus.

The money collected from the rally will be given to SIREA, a non-profit organization, to provide for the families and sufferers of AIDS in the Southern Illinois region.