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SHE’S BACK! PGEA 8 KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY THESENTINEL TU ESDAY, OCT. 19, 2010 VOL. 46 ISSUE 9 SINCE 1966 WWW.KSUSENTINEL.COM KENNESAW, GA AIDS: The forgotten pandemic Student passes away due by James Swift to massive head injuries CULTURE EDItoR Carolyn Grindrod By the time Tricia Grin- NEWS EDItoR del was 35, she had attended KSU Senior Michael Chadwick “Chad” Wilson, 24, of Cairo, Ga. more funerals and memorial died on Oct. 12 at an Atlanta hospital after undergoing surgery services than her parents had for head injuries after an accident the prior day. attended in their lifetimes. According to Cobb County police, Wilson was found in the Death was part of her job morning hours of Oct. 11 near the intersection of Kennestone as a director for the nonprofit Circle and Cobb Parkway with massive head trauma. He was then AID Atlanta Inc., a job she left taken by Lifeflight to Atlanta Medical Center where he died at in 1993. Grindel has been a 12:30 p.m. the next day. communication instructor at Cobb County Police Information Officer Sgt. Dana Pierce said KSU since 2002. no other bodily trauma was found. Cobb County’s Crimes Against According to a 2009 World Persons unit is still investigating the incident. Health Organization report, Wilson graduated with honors from Cairo High School in 2004 an estimated 25 million people and attended Bainbridge College in Bainbridge, Ga. He trans- worldwide have died from ferred to KSU in 2006 as an art major with a concentration in AIDS, and an estimated 33.4 graphic communication and design. million are currently infected. Wilson worked for the Atlanta-based company BFG Communi- The rate of AIDS/HIV infec- cations and was a member of Eastside Baptist Church in Cairo. tion has remained constant His funeral was held Satur- Courtesy of CDC since 1997. Grindel, now 53, day at Cairo’s Eastside Baptist believes the Southeast has Church. He is survived by: been disproportionately af- mother and stepfather, Jana fected by the virus. heard a man say to the person next to him, “The and Ron Best of Cairo; father “The Atlanta metro area is the 33rd largest city, fags deserve what they got.” Though she believes and stepmother, Michael and but consistently ranks around 10th to 13th in the public perception of the disease has improved since Kelley Wilson of Panama City, nation for AIDS cases,” she said. A recent Center for then, the stigma is one reason many do not seek Fla.; sister, Sarah Wilson of Disease Control report states that one in 22 African treatment. Cairo; grandmother, Beverly Americans in the United States will become infected “I think it’s a combination of factors: stigma, the Lovett of Cairo; stepbrothers, with HIV at some point in their lives. CDC findings populations affected and money,” she said. “HIV/ Jayson Best, of Jacksonville, state that African Americans are twice as likely to AIDS is no longer the ‘disease of the week.’ If you Fla., Nic k Boyette, of Panama acquire HIV as Hispanic citizens, and almost eight don’t know someone that has or had HIV/AIDS, it’s City; stepsister, Katie Boyette, times more likely to acquire the disease than Cauca- difficult to understand why it should be a priority. of Panama City; and a host of sians in the United States. In Atlanta, there is no longer a lot of information cousins. “[The high rate of Southeasterns afflicted] is about HIV/AIDS, yet people are not at any less risk In lieu of flowers, memori- likely due to the high percentage of African Ameri- for contracting the virus. When I was working in als can be made to Eastside cans in the South,” she said. “About 99 percent of all the field, I knew people who lost their jobs, their Baptist Church Building Fund, HIV/AIDS cases occur among gay men, minority housing and the support of family and friends be- P.O. Box 749, Cairo, Ga., 39828 women and IV drug users - all groups that tradi- cause of the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. I’ve or First Baptist Church Build- Wilson tionally have been marginalized by society.” seen some, but not all, of the stigma dissipate, and ing Fund, P.O. Box 1538, Cairo, Grindel believes social perceptions of HIV keep I’ve seen treatments, and consequently life spans, Ga. 39828. Guests may sign the many infected people from seeking treatment. She i mprov e .” online register at www.clarkfu- recalled giving a seminar in 1992, when she over- Grindel said AIDS treatment has advanced con- neral.com. See AIDS Page 2 CULTURE NEWS SPORTS Avoid being the The homecoming Wordsmiths: Halloweenie calendar is packed! Page 7 Want a free TV? Page 2 Page 15 2 • KENNESAW STATE SENTINEL NEWS Oct. 19, 2010 AIDS continued from Page 1 Residential overachievers siderably during the last 30 years, to the point where an HIV/AIDS diagnosis is no longer an automatic death sentence. “When I was working at AID Atlanta, the average lifespan between diagnosis and death was two years,” she said. “Today, HIV/ cause a ‘Ruckus’ AIDS is generally considered a chronic illness rather than a death sentence.” Despite better treatment and longer life spans, a 2009 Treatment students pushing one another out of a ring, an Michael Thomas Action Group report found that the National Institutes of Health inflatable obstacle course and complimentary STAFF WRITER funding for AIDS research has fallen during the last five years. barbecue. “The number of large pharmaceuticals developing drugs for HIV There were also Game Trucks holding about appears to be decreasing,” said Dr. Melanie Thompson of the AIDS The National Residence Hall Honorary, a 40 popular Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nin- Research Consortium of Atlanta, an organization involved in the group of the top 1 percent of on-campus resi- tendo Wii games, said senior LaSonya Hen- development of more than 20 HIV/AIDS drugs. “Some of these have dents, held its first event — the Residential drix, a student staff member at the event. simply run out of money lately, canceling entire research programs Ruckus — Oct. 12 in the Kennesaw Place Field There was also a Hero Box where attendees for promising drugs.” located just north of the University Village could write letters of appreciation to deployed NIH funding increased by more than $30 million in 2009, and Suites. service members. Hero Box is a non-profit NIH’s Office of AIDS Research requested an additional $98 million The NRHH, which selects its members organization that sends the letters and items for the 2011 fiscal year. according to GPA, started at KSU in 2008, overseas. “If not funded,” said Thompson, “there will be a continued but the organization has done little beyond act The publicity gained from this event will contraction of available research dollars, as costs continue to rise as an honor society until this event, said se- help NRHH when it commences service whether the budget does or not.” nior accounting major David Mazul, president that requires resident involvement, such as Grindel wonders if funded research could have prolonged the of the NRHH. a canned food drive or any other kind of life of her best friend, Don Bratcher, who died from AIDS-related Mazul said the group stands for service, donation-based service. complications in 1993. leadership, recognition and education, so “We wanted people to know about us when “He was quite muscular and fit,” she recalled. “When he died, its activities revolve around these themes. we do start [our service projects],” said Mazul. he weighed 86 pounds. His skin was like parchment, and you could The Ruckus counts as a recognition activ- To receive an invitation into NRHH, stu- see all of the veins and the knobs of his bones. It’s been 17 and a half ity; NRHH plans to take part in community dents must have a minimum of a 3.75 GPA, years since Don died, and not a day goes by that I don’t miss him or service as well. explained Mazul. wonder if he might still be alive if he’d become infected just a few The Ruckus event attracted about 270 stu- It also helps if students are part of on cam- years later.” dents. pus activities or “exude that spirit” needed to That sort of “what if” never leaves you, according to Grindel. “The NRHH put on a great program… it was get out and go to these events and be social, “It never goes away, whether the media or friends talk about it or a lot of fun,” said sophomore Paige Parks, a added member Shelby Roberts. not,” she said. “I’m disappointed that the disease has lost much of its biology major who attended the Ruckus. The NRHH has a temporary office in the media and government appeal because people will always be at risk Co-sponsored by the Residence Hall As- Kennesaw Place Clubhouse. To contact the of contracting HIV, and subsequently dying from it, until there’s a sociation, the event included activities such group, e-mail Antony Ware, the group’s ad- vaccine or a cure.” as faux sumo wrestling — plushy suit-clad viser, at [email protected]. Accounts just for you! EdgesM savings Account A great way to save5.00% and earn a high APy* rate! Also available: n $5 deposit to open n Student Loans n No monthly service fees n LGE’s Visa® Achiever credit card, a n Access to the Edge website – smart way to build credit responsibly! a great resource for financial n Mobile Banking & Home Banking information and tools n ATMs High rate checkingsM 3.00% APy** n No minimum balance n No monthly service fees n Refunds for ATM surcharge fees** www.LGEccu.org n 770-424-0060 n Design your own debit card! 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