Connie Byers of American Red Cross demonstrating how to do proper CPR. 

Sigma Lambda Beta hosted the event.

Student Group Seeks to help peers before Spring Break

Connie Byers of the American Red Cross visited the University of Oklahoma for Victor Correa CPR Awareness Day Thursday evening at the HTCC. Sigma Lambda Beta Fraternity hosted the event.

"It seemed to be a pretty good turnout," Luis Vargas said, vice president of Sigma Lambda Beta. "Hopefully the people here will be using this knowledge for spring break."

Victor Correa was member of Sigma Lambda Beta who passed away. " As we can see from today it's fairly simple to administer CPR and we hope we can keep that in that in mind and nothing like that would happen again," Vargas said.

Byers gave a demonstration on how to do CPR properly. "You can't believe the large percentage of people are there in the hospital because they got hurt trying help somebody," Byers said. "It great to help somebody, but what good are you if you are gonna get injured too."

The American Red Cross offers CPR training online at redcrossonlinetraining.org. "You will be certified for three years," Byers said.

OU Gospel Choir performs at Fifth Street Baptist Church. It was for the Black Church Week of 

Prayer for the Healing of AIDS.

Deadly virus disproportionate to African Americans

The OU Gospel Choir performed at Fifth Street Baptist Church earlier this month for The Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS. They called it the Soul Healing Musical. 

"The churches have agreed to do at least one sermon related to HIV throughout the year 2009," Terrainia Harris of Oklahoma State Department of Health. "So we are realizing this disease in our community. We are trying to do something about it."

Mark Knight, an outreach health educator for Guiding Right Inc., read a letter to the audience from a person who contracted by the HIV virus.

"Once I was diagnosed the feeling of hopelessness was overwhelming and destructive," Knight reads. "I wanted to die."

The person was happy that the community is coming together to aid people with HIV/AIDS. She also thinks it's a wonderful plan to involve the community in the plight of infected people with no hope left. 

Kai Dameron of RAIN Oklahoma read another letter which gave a different account on how the Oklahoma City dealt with people who contracted the HIV virus.  

"I was saddened by the horrible way my church treated my daughter after we told them that she was HIV positive, Dameron reads. "Many of the church members refused even sit near her. For my daughter it was like her second family had turned their back on her."

According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, the HIV/AIDS epidemic affects African Americans at an alarming rate. 

"In Oklahoma, African-Americans make up 7.6 percent of population, but make up 34 percent of new HIV cases," Amani Smiley of Oklahoma State Department of Health.

Additionally, as of December 2007, the 20-29 age group leads in HIV cases with over 35 percent in the state of Oklahoma. Knight argues that it is happening at a fast pace in Oklahoma. 

"We will be seeing an increase," Knight said. "In the last couple of years,  I think the majority of people that we have tested were under 30 that test positive. So we are actually on regular basis younger and younger people coming into our offices or getting referred to us for services that tested positive."

HIV/AIDS virus has been disproportionate to African American women. According to Black AIDS Institute, black women now account for 67 percent of all AIDS cases among African Americans. 

The rate is about the same with black women among all women.

"64 percent of all women infected with HIV are African American women," Knight said. "Why is that?" 

Avert, an HIV and AIDS charity group,  stated that HIV/AIDS virus is so severe to African Americans due to poverty, the lack of access to healthcare, racism and stigma, and prisoners infecting their female partners upon release. 

"If you do test HIV positive, your life is definitely not over," Knight said. "We have come such a long way in HIV treatment from back in the day til now."

Knight said that people with HIV had to take a lot of pills a day when the disease was discovered. Now the amount has gone do to one in most cases. 

The outreach teacher suggested that couples should go together to get tested because 90 percent of the time when a couple both tested positive, the man is the one who had HIV for the longest. 

"In any situation the only person that is going to look out and take care of you first is you," Knight said. "You can't be totally dependent, especially when you are talking about a sexually transmitted disease, that other person to be 100 percent with you."

There are a lot of solutions such as condoms and involvement from the government that would prevent the spreading of HIV/AIDS. Just today, Tennessee state representative Brenda Gilmore proposed a bill that would required HIV test for prisoners upon their release.

Bekah Stone speaking at Sooner for Peace in Palestine meeting. They are selling 

keffiyeh this Thursday from 11 t0 2p.m.

Student Group at OU reacts to a Senator's proposal 

Republican Senator John Kyl proposed an amendment Monday that would forbid federal money to Palestinian refugees to resettle from Gaza to the United States. Senator Kyl's  purpose for the amendment is out of fear that some refugees would ties to Hamas, a supposed terrorist group.

"It is discriminatory, it's outrageous," said Bekah Stone on Tuesday, president of Sooner for Peace in Palestine. "It honestly a disgust that some of our senators would be doing that."

Stone said that she sent messages through Facebook and email urging people to call their senators to ask them to shoot down the amendment. 

"I read an article that one call represents not just one person it represents 500 people," Stone said. "They actually voted on it last night and it was rejected. I'm sure he gonna try it again and try to sneak some other things in there."

Sooner for Peace in Palestine will be selling keffiyeh Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the OMU. 

Charity Basketball Tournament at a local YMCA

Air Mafia wins the 2nd annual "Who Got Game?" 3-on-3 Charity Basketball Tournament Friday afternoon at the Cleveland County YMCA. Their prizes were $200 and t-shirts. The charity was given to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

"We had fewer teams come out this year than last year, but still a good turnout, Sharup Karim said, service chair of Delta Epsilon Psi. Delta Epsilon Psi hosted the tournament along with the sponsors of Coca Cola and Cleveland County YMCA.

This year the tournament introduced the 3-point shoot out contest. The winner was Sunil Patel. "He and his team actually flew out all the way from Fort Smith, Arkansas to play," Karim said. Patel's team made it to the finals where they placed second.

Karim said the tournament was highly competitive last year and looks to make changes for next year's tournament.

"There will definitely be more referees next year," Sananda Som said, president of Delta Epsilon Psi.

Benjamin Brooks of Young Ballaz performing at Open Mic Night on Tuesday. The purpose 

of the event was to express his feelings in a hip-hop fashion.

P.E.A.C.E hosts Open Mic Night on Campus Corner

Tuesday night was open mic night "The I Love Hip-Hop Edition" at Justin's Bistro on Campus Corner. The purpose of the event to express their feelings in a hip-hop fashion. The event is hosted by P.E.A.C.E, a student organization at OU.

It is "a poets entertainers artists creative thinkers' expressive community," Jaren Colins said president of P.E.A.C.E. "We cater to all specters. It's not just for minorities."

The Young Ballazz performed along with other poets. At the end of the performances, students and other spoke on why they love hip-hop.

"Any problem I have in my life, there's a song I can find to solve my problem," said Nathan Gwathney OU sophmore.

P.E.A.C.E. was started last semester and trying to expand their branches. "We are doing a mentoring program with local middle schools so they can have their abilities to express their minds," Collins said.