By The Editorial Board

World AIDS Day, which was first conceived in 1987 by James W. Bunn and Thomas Netter, two officers of the World Health Organization, and celebrated on December 1, 1988, has become a platform for discussion on HIV and AIDS among governments and citizens around the globe. As the disease has spread from a niche place in medical culture to a pandemic that affects people of all ages and backgrounds, efforts to reduce the spread of the virus have readily increased in developed countries. People donate resources to shelters and to organizations such as the American Red Cross in an attempt to prevent AIDS from becoming even more prevalent.

Given that New York City is a sprawling, populous area with millions of people, the opportunity to assist at an AIDS clinic is often just around the corner. Such is the case here at Fordham, with the Bronx AIDS Services (BAS) clinic directly outside the campus gates. Students should utilize this opportunity more, as the need for assistance among AIDS patients grows.

We at The Ram believe that it is paramount for students to offer any kind of help that they can. Our location in the heart of the Bronx, however, affords us with the unique opportunity to volunteer on the front lines of fighting the AIDS epidemic. Such an opportunity certainly runs parallel to the mission of our University as a Jesuit institution, and it keeps with the “men and women for others” mindset that Fordham attempts to instill in all of us.

According to an article published in The New York Times in June 2008, the Bronx has a much higher death rate among AIDS patients than in any other borough. Fordham’s location presents students with a unique ability to combat an overwhelming issue in our surrounding community directly.

Fordham students have proven that they have the capacity to lead the country in community service efforts, reaffirmed by a Washington Monthly ranking which placed Fordham sixth nationally in community service in 2011. We strongly encourage the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice, Campus Ministry, the Student Global AIDS Campaign and other organizations to lead Fordham’s efforts in fighting AIDS in the Bronx and beyond.