Orange Marks 5 Percent

Approximately 200 students purchased and committed to wearing the orange shirts every day this week at Biola.

Kelsey Heng

If you think you are seeing a lot of orange on campus this week you aren’t imagining it. The Social Justice Ministry’s HIV/AIDS and Orphan Care group are partnering with World Vision’s Acting on AIDS to bring “Do You See Orange?” week to Biola April 7th through 11th.

“Do You See Orange?” week is part of a national campaign on college campuses to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

According to statistics on the World Vision website, 1 out of every 20 children in sub-Saharan Africa is orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

“The goal of the “Do You See Orange?” campaign is to saturate Biola’s campus with basic awareness of the global AIDS pandemic through a visual representation of the impact AIDS is having on children in sub-Saharan Africa,” said organizer Alicia Miller.

Part of the campaign involves 5 percent of the student body donning orange t-shirts with the word “orphan” printed on them. That means about 175 students at Biola will be wearing the shirts. This visually symbolizes how many children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

Freshman Taylor Walpus, who will be wearing one of the orange shirts said that she is participating because the issue is important to her.

“I want people to realize how big a deal AIDS is,” Said Walpus.

The organizers of “Do You See Orange?” week have a full week of events planned. On Monday students wore their orange T-shirts for the first time to signal the beginning of “Do You See Orange?” week.

Tuesday at 9 p.m. a speaker from Acres of Love, an orphanage in South Africa, spoke in Bardwell 112.

On Wednesday there will be 24-hour prayer in the AS Conference Room. Also at 8 p.m. in the Café Banquet Room there will be a speaker from Sunshine Kids International, which is an organization that works with an orphanage in India.

There will be a showing of ‘Dear Francis’ on Thursday in Business 109 at 7 p.m. The movie follows two college students’ encounter with HIV/AIDS on a trip to Swaziland.

“I saw the movie they are showing, ‘Dear Francis’, when I was a junior in high school and that is what made me decide to be a missionary to Africa,” said freshman Courtney Jane Patton. Patton has already traveled to Africa over inter term as part of a missionary team.

The week will end on Friday as students take political action and ‘Write the Wrong’ with legislation petitions at Fluor Fountain from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Participants will be endorsing the “Global Child Survival Act.” According to Miller, one of the main senators they will be writing to is Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who has yet to add her name to the number of representatives and senators supporting the the act.

Biola’s Social Justice Ministry feels that making people aware of diseases like HIV/AIDS is the first step in making a lasting difference.

“Awareness and education programs like Orange Week are the events that get people aware, interested, and involved in the issues we represent,” said Penman, the Director of the Social Justice Ministry.