If Barack Can Do It, So Can You

By Sarah Dahnke in News on Nov 30, 2006 8:01PM

Have you been meaning to get one of those pesky AIDS tests but don't want to fork over the $100 or so in lab fees that your doctor charges?

In the spirit of Bono and Oprah, Columbia College is kicking off its World AIDS Day celebration tonight at the HotHouse and will be offering free rapid HIV testing in a Hummer outside of the building.

Tomorrow the celebration continues with an Awareness Expo, which will be held concurrently at Conaway Center (1104 S. Wabash), Hokin Annex (623 S. Wabash) and at 731 S. Plymouth, and will feature more than 20 HIV & AIDS service providers providing information about disease testing and prevention.

At 2 p.m., the Conway Center will hold an open discussion, titled "Can Art Save Lives?" which will feature none other than Mr. Dan Savage, in addition to Dr. Eric Avery and photographer Craig Bender. We're particularly curious about this discussion, as we're on an eternal quest to find ways to continue to make art meaningful and do more than just make people happy. Plus, we just effing love Dan Savage.

Tomorrow evening there will be a reception for Adriana Bertini's "controversial" exhibit, "Dress Up Against AIDS" that features dresses made out of condoms. While we appreciate the exhibit for its attempt to keep AIDS awareness in a public forum, dresses made from condoms seem more along the lines of an angsty art student's senior installation. But it's an art reception, which usually means there will be free wine, which we always welcome.

And don't worry if you pitched that student I.D. long ago. All of the events are free and open to the public.

Image via sectionz.