Spreading their message of courage and inspiration across the country, the Road to Hope Tour is coming to Marquette today for AIDS Awareness Week.
The Road to Hope Tour is a national bus tour that stops at high schools and college campuses to raise student awareness about HIV/AIDS.
"The Tour targets schools because students between the ages of 18 and 24 are high risk," said Amanda Ihle, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences and a member of the service group Watumishi. "HIV does exist at this campus. Students need to be extremely cautious if they are sexually active."
A panel of speakers will share their stories about how they contracted HIV and how they are dealing with the infection, Ihle said.
"Despite this infection, these people still have a positive and hopeful outlook," she said.
Todd Murray, executive director and co-founder of Hope's Voice, the tour's sponsor, said some of the components of the tour are to advocate, to spread awareness about prevention and testing and to educate.
Murray is one of three speakers who will be at Marquette today. He is living with HIV.
"I believe college students do not really believe HIV/AIDS affects them because they do not have a real connection with it," Murray said. "Until you know someone who tests positive you don't think about it."
The speakers are between the ages of 21 and 26 and are of different ethnic backgrounds, Murray said.
"The focus of the campaign is to spread the message that this disease can affect everyone; it doesn't discriminate," Murray said. "We spread this message through telling our stories."
Maura Sullivan, a member of Watumishi and a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, said the purpose of the tour is to make students realize there is no one face of HIV.
"We know HIV/AIDS is a problem in Third World countries and sub-Saharan Africa, but it's still here," Sullivan said. "This is no longer a 'gay man's disease.' The message of this tour is 'does HIV look like me?'"
With college students at high risk for the disease, Sullivan said it is important students realize if they are sexually active, they are susceptible.
"We're sometimes blinded by the fact we are at a Catholic, Jesuit university in the Midwest," Sullivan said. "This disease does not care about religion, race or region in which you live."
Students who attended the Student March Against AIDS rally in Washington D.C. earlier this year met some of the members of Hope's Voice, said Conor Sweeney, co-chair of Watumishi and a College of Arts & Sciences sophomore.
"They are just getting the word out about awareness and prevention and they are especially connecting with the youth," Sweeney said. "It should be a great event and I'm very excited."
The tour will be in Marquette Hall 200 at 1 p.m. today.
In addition to sponsoring the Road to Hope Tour, Watumishi will also box books collected for their year-long "Words for the World" book drive Sunday.
"The Jesuit Residence is overflowing with books," Sweeney said. "We received a tremendous response, more than we anticipated. We are very excited that Marquette was so generous."
A donor will ship the books for free to Voi, Kenya, where members of Watumishi will help build a learning center this August.
"If we can raise education, then empowerment increases," Ihle said. "Through empowerment we can slow this pandemic in Africa."
This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 21 2005.