Over 125 DePaul University students, faculty and staff members will participate in the AIDS Walk and Run sponsored by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago scheduled for 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, in Grant Park.

Gary W. Harper, a professor of psychology at DePaul who teaches a course in the Discover Chicago curriculum entitled "Diverse Faces of AIDS: Prevention, Education and Treatment," says there has been a tremendous push from students to make a difference and educate others about the effects of HIV and AIDS. Students in Harper's course learn about the diverse range of individuals impacted by HIV and AIDS and discover the assortment of prevention, education, treatment, and advocacy services that are offered throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. Students experience the human face of AIDS and explore the complex nature of the social, psychological, political, religious and legal dimensions of this epidemic.

"There are two aims for our participation in the AIDS walk," says Harper. "We are trying to promote awareness about the disease especially among young people and we want to make a significant financial donation to the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC)."

This is DePaul's first year of participation in the event as a unified body. Student organizations, university offices and centers are co-sponsoring the event, including the DePaul AIDS project, HIV/AIDS Task Force, Women's Center, Office on Mission and Values and the Vincentian Endowment Fund. In addition to participating in the race, DePaul participants also will distribute educational packets about the disease that include information regarding the magnitude of the epidemic, routes of transmission, methods of prevention and local sites for free HIV testing.

Discover Chicago is an 11-week experiential program that acquaints first-year students at DePaul with the metropolitan community, its neighborhoods, cultures, people, institutions, organizations and issues. In existence since 1985, the AFC is the largest source of support for AIDS programs in the Midwest.

Note to Editors: Reporters wishing to cover the event on Sept. 29 should contact Gary W. Harper at 312/925-4114. DePaul University participants will meet at 8:15 in the Student Academic Center, located at 2320 N. Kenmore Ave., on the Lincoln Park Campus before heading to Grant Park. Reporters wishing to receive more information about the Diverse Faces of AIDS course or the Discover Chicago program should contact Melody Waller in the University Relations department at 312/362-8823.