BEEP students to spread the word on AIDS

The Southern University Black Executive Exchange Program will be hosting its second annual AIDS Awareness Week from March 27-31.
“I think this is necessary because of the impact AIDS is having on our communities,” said Keila Burnett, president of the Black Executive Exchange. “It is definitely plaguing the Baton Rouge community, but also our nation as a whole. I don’t think the awareness of it has been embraced as it should be.”
The Black Executive Exchange Program is aimed at helping prepare college students for their collegiate and post-graduate careers. The program is sponsored by the National Urban League and caters to all majors.
Burnett said last year’s president Kadejuh Dent inaugurated the event. Dent dedicated the week to her brother Leonard Cook, who died of AIDS.
“This week is geared toward not only increasing AIDS awareness but also AIDS testing,” Burnett said.
The week’s activities include a kickoff on March 27 in the Smith-Brown Memorial Union’s Lakefront Room, a health fair, “Sex on the Bluff” in Boley Hall, a forum discussing sex and an AIDS Walk and rally.
“Some people aren’t educated in regards to how the virus is transmitted, how to protect themselves or even how to get tested,” Burnett said. “The numbers are increasing rapidly in the black community and that’s why I think it’s important to do this.”