THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 23, 1995 TAG: 9511230734
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIMMY GNASS, CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
Dozens of grocery bags stuffed with food recently crowded the floor of the Student Senate office at Old Dominion University.
``Excuse the mess,'' said student body president Chris Pearson, cocking his head from behind a computer terminal. ``We're feeding people today.''
The Student Senate, along with a half-dozen other campus groups, rounded up 2,500 pounds of Thanksgiving food for local residents with AIDS or the HIV virus.
``Somebody over there heard our prayer,'' said Jim Spivey, executive director of the Tidewater AIDS Crisis Taskforce, which helped deliver the food Wednesday.
``We were overwhelmed. . . .You almost want to stand there and cry.''
Elaina Pak, 20, and Priscilla Witwer, 18 - both members of the Student Senate - helped get the project rolling.
``Some people might ask why an AIDS patient would need food,'' Pak said. ``They spend lots of money on treatment and become broke. We wish we could do more.''
Witwer said she hoped it would get students to think about the risks they are exposed to.
``College students are in this state of invincibility,'' she said. ``They are not educated about AIDS.''
The Tidewater AIDS Crisis Taskforce, a nonprofit organization supported by government grants and private donations, educates people about AIDS and helps those with the disease.
Other ODU organizations that participated in the food drive were Alpha XI Delta, Black Student Alliance, Circle K Order, Rotaract Club, Student Activities Council and Wesley-Westminster Student Association. by CNB