Ithaca College

What do Ithaca College, George Washington University, North Carolina Central University, Baylor University, University of Nebraska, DePaul University, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Brandeis University, Brown, Harvard and just ten other colleges across the nation have in common this year? They were all selected as official stops for the 2006 Road to Hope Tour!

On Thursday, April 27, the 2006 Road to Hope Tour will visit Ithaca College to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS. An initiative of Hope's Voice, a national organization committed to preventing HIV and AIDS among young adults, the tour will feature five HIV-positive speakers—all under the age of 30—conducting a daylong series of training, planning, and educational events. Highlighting the visit will be a panel discussion that will take place at 7:00 p.m. in Clark Lounge, Campus Center.

During the course of the day, the speakers and local campus and community resources will present information on the global reach of the HIV pandemic and what young people can do to prevent HIV and AIDS. In addition, information tables will be on the quad during the noon hour (rain location inside Campus Center), along with a display in the North Foyer display case.

Hope's Voice uses open dialogue and peer-to-peer education to send a crucial message - HIV does not discriminate - and seeks to raise awareness and help young adults create the social change needed to end this epidemic. Speakers slated to visit campus include Marvelyn Brown, 21, who recently appeared on UPN’s "America’s Next Top Model" to assist the show's stars create and produce a public service announcement about HIV/AIDS in young people that will air on the network throughout the year.

This year's visit of the Road to Hope Tour is sponsored by several campus and community organizations, including the Ithaca College AIDS Working Group, Health Promotion and Substance Abuse Prevention Program, Diversity Awareness Committee, Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education, and Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Education, Outreach, and Services along with Tri-Fund and the Cayuga Medical Center at Ithaca.

For more information on the event, contact Kimberley Conrad at (607) 274-1908 or kconrad@ithaca.edu. Information on Hope's Voice is available at Hope's Voice website. See the video about this unique tour at Road to Hope Tour 2006 video interview.