NYU's Daily Student Newspaper
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Issue date: 12.01.2004
Chalking up AIDS awareness
by Kim Llerena
Contributing Writer
Harvey's hands were ungloved and dusty, with a baby blue residue coating a blister on her middle finger.
"I chalk hard, man." she said.
Yesterday, before NYU students crept into their first classes of the day, about 25 members of the NYC Student Initiative for AIDS, a student run non-profit, woke up early to chalk the NYU campus and surrounding area with statistics about HIV/AIDS in honor of World AIDS Day.
Ten of them pulled themselves out of bed as early as 5 a.m. to head uptown to chalk in front of the CNN and FOX News headquarters in Rockefeller Center, in hopes of spreading the word even further.
"It's inspiring that scribbling something on the ground can actually open a lot of eyes," said CAS freshman Naethra Sreekrishna, who braved the chilly morning run.
She and her friend Endria Richardson, also a CAS freshman, had been awake and working with other Student Initiative for AIDS members since 11:30 Monday morning.
"You can sleep whenever you want," Richardson said. "How many times in college do you get to do something that might impact someone so immediately?"
After chalking outside of major news buildings, the two had some brief encounters with Rockefeller Center security. A guard called notified his supervisors that "protesters" were at work, but did not stop the chalking, Richardson said.
Afterwards, the two joined their cohorts downtown, armed with boxes of Crayola sidewalk chalk and multiple layers of winter clothing.
After three years of chalking on AIDS Day, the Student Initiative for AIDS has become more coordinated, Harvey said. Further, she said, they incited less ire from NYU security this year. Last year, chalking work around campus was erased several times.
At one point, Harvey thought she noticed someone erasing one of her statistics outside of the Tisch building on Broadway. She quickly realized it was quite the opposite - an NYU bus driver had picked up a worn-down stick of chalk that had been left on the sidewalk and added to the statistic about African children dying of AIDS. He wrote in pink and green pastels, "What are you doing about it?"
"Chalking is the one example where our goal is to raise awareness," said Eric Cioe, a CAS senior and president of the organization. "With everything else, we want to engage our fellow students in the fight. Chalking is truly is a 'Wake-up call to World AIDS Day,' which was sort of our slogan this time."
As the morning progressed, Village denizens began to take notice. Building superintendents scrubbed or hosed down statistics scrawled too close to buildings. Dog-walkers respectfully stepped over statistics on the corner. Park maintenance workers wondered why these college students were up before they had to be.
Near the fountain, a little boy rode a red two wheeler over a newly chalked red and white statistic.
"What does that one say?" he asked a group of chalkers standing around.
Harvey began to answer. "It says ..." She paused. "Oh, I can't even tell him," she said, suddenly looking sad for the first time that morning.
The statistic read: "In 2001, 1,600 American children died each day of AIDS." •
ISSN
1549-9375
Copyright © 2004, Washington Square News, all rights reserved.