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Stonewall Columbus/Ohio AIDS Coalition
Stonewall Columbus, Ohio AIDS Coalition AIDS awareness
Stonewall Columbus and Ohio AIDS Coalition teaming up to raise aids awareness among women





With AIDS affecting adult women at an alarming rate, two local organizations are working to raise awareness and make a difference for those who have been affected by the virus.
Ohio AIDS Coalition teamed up with Stonewall Columbus on Saturday, March 6, 2010, to present “Something on the Inside,” an art show and benefit concert to raise AIDS awareness.
“For women between the ages of 25 and 44, the leading cause of death is AIDS related,” said Erin Upchurch, who was in charge of the event.
Upchurch, a member of the board of Ohio AIDS Coalition (OAC), organized the event which focused on women affected by the AIDS virus.
“We want to raise awareness,” said Upchurch. “We're here to support those women, many of whom are still raising families.”
The event took place at Stonewall Columbus (SWC) and began with an art show featuring women artists. Every artist agreed to donate a portion of their sales to OAC.


“Approximately $200 was raised, which will cover the costs for two women to attend the second ever Healing Weekend for women this June,” stated Upchurch.
Healing Weekends are programs offered by OAC for women who are HIV-positive. These weekends are self-cure programs that provide support and information to help them better understand how to deal with life with AIDS.
The art exhibit featured “Picture Your World.” The self-portraits are of women at Healing Weekends. According to the captions, they represent women being comfortable with themselves, despite having AIDS.


Kimberlin - photo taken at Healing Weekend.
On display at "Something on the Inside"
At Stonewall Columbus, March 6, 2010


Halima - photo taken at Healing Weekend.
On display at "Something on the Inside"
At Stonewall Columbus, March 6, 2010


One of the artists featured was Sylvia Niedner, an origami artisan and activist to raise AIDS awareness.
“I appreciate the work OAC does, like the Healing Weekends they offer,” said Niedner. “This experience says a lot about Stonewall, about their joy, creativity and activist spirit.”




Heart, Hope, Courage - Origami Mobile by Sylvia Niedner
On display at “Something on the Inside”
At Stonewall Columbus, March 6, 2010


SWC is the leading organization on GLBT issues in the Central Ohio area according to their website. The organization reaches out beyond the gay community.
“We offer many programs and services,” said Karla Rothan, executive director for SWC since 2007. “We have book clubs, clubs for running, yoga, workshops. They are all free and anyone is welcome.”
“Stonewall's main goal is to help GLBT people live healthy and happy lives,” said Rothan. “Through support and raising awareness, we strive to have equality.”
SWC allows other organizations to use the facility for events like OAC's “Something on the Inside.”

Upchurch is also a founding member of New Leaf Columbus, a social network for Columbus' LGBT community, minorities and its allies. Here, members were notified of the event.
Terrance Brooks, a member of New Leaf Columbus, was pleased to attend and contribute to the cause.
“Events like these are inspirational,” said Brooks.
Brooks, the assistant housing director at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, feels events like “Something on the Inside” and organizations like New Leaf Columbus can be uplifting when it comes to discussing heavy topics like AIDS awareness.
“Columbus is pretty thriving with the GLBT community,” said Brooks. “For minorities to get together and have dialogue, it allows for there to be a presence.”

The night concluded with Tracy Walker performing for an hour. Walker, a musician for 16 years, made the trip from Cincinnati to be a part of an event she feels is very important.
“AIDS is still an important concern but people seem to think it's not a big deal,” said Walker. “I'm happy to see these types of events taking place and being a part of it.”




Tracy Walker performing for "Something on the Inside"
At Stonewall Columbus, March 6, 2010


Walker advises everyone to take this issue seriously, and there is information out there for anyone to obtain.
“Very basic things we can all do to stay safe. Most of it comes down to our personal responsibility,” said Walker. “Educate yourself. Don't run from the truth.”

Extra Credit

This article had me thinking it was a great idea at first about having journalism students writing for New York Times. Then, when it came to the issue of those same students not having a job when they graduated, I began to question reasons why newspapers would do this.

Newspapers have the right to do this, but it seems like they are contributing to a cycle where, after graduating from college, these people will have a very difficult time landing a job in this market.

As a student, the opportunity to get your name out there and have stories published is exciting. Having the chance to get a story published by a major newspaper is something students and many journalists would love to have.

From the side of the editor/manager, with the option of local issues either being covered for free or not being covered at all, I could understand why they would give students a chance to do freelance work. But, according to the article, the journalism industry is not too strong, and with the job-cuts it mentions and how easy they can offer students opportunities, those in the job field seem to suffer.

Just like the social media issue, both sides to this story are understandable.

Ethics Assignment

Drawing a line on social media as a working reporter seems to be a lot tougher after reading this article and reading many opinions on this issue. I understand the argument of being careful with how you represent yourself online. I am careful right now due to being an Resident Adviser. I agree that it is important to present yourself in a professional manner because anyone and everyone may have access to your facebook or twitter accounts.

However, I feel censoring yourself - whether it's through your political beliefs or opinions on elections or issues - because your job may get mad at you is a bit unfair. I would definitely do what Cheryl Rossi and Matt Stannard do and have two separate accounts, with one being personal and the other professional. What employers need to understand is that journalists have a life outside of their work. To limit them in their opinions or punish them because it may make their company look bad seems unfair.

If it is going to be a professional account, I agree that journalists should include their place of employment information on there. Because social media can and is playing a major role as a news outlet, journalists should have the same attitude towards it as they do towards their work.

One of the most notable controversies involving a journalist and social media came when Terry Moran, an ABC news employee, tweeted that Obama called Kanye West a jackass. His tweet was quickly removed but it spread rapidly, and ABC apologized for Moran's tweet. Concerning this, I see it both ways:
This is not news and what Moran tweeted was not false information so to apologize for the tweet seems unfair to me. He heard something interesting and tweeted about it. I do not see the harm in what he did.
However, Moran was there covering an interview for his job and he tweeted something that had nothing to do with what he was doing. I could understand why ABC felt it made them look bad. Still, I lean more towards Moran's side.

Putting myself in the shoes of the editors/managers, I definitely understand their side for wanting to place limits/rules concerning journalists use of social networks. Journalists and newspapers or networks should be unbiased. If a journalist makes it clear their stance on issues, many can and will interpret that as biased and in a way, lose credibility for their company. Since social networks have become another tool for news, journalists should treat it and represent themselves and their companies well through it if they are going to use it as a way of reporting news.

Whether someone is a journalist or not, they need to be responsible with what information they put out there for the world to see. A good example is the story of Dan Leone, a former employee of the Philadelphia Eagles, being fired for insulting the Eagles and referring to them as "retarded" after they traded away one of his favorite players. Yes, everyone has the right to free speech. But when you use language that can be offensive and display it on the Internet, you should accept the consequences, especially when you are a representative of a company. It should not matter if you are a journalist or not. When someone gets hired, they need to realize they are part of that organization and must always represent it in a professional, mature manner.

This issue of drawing the line is tricky. I see and understand both sides to it. My solution to this would be for journalists and for anyone else to have two separate accounts of Facebook, Twitter or Myspace, with one being for personal reasons and the other for professional and work-related reasons. Still, it is important that the user represents himself in each account in a respectable and professional manner. Because, at the end of the day, they are giving many people access to information into their lives, and information can spread once it is put out there. It is best to just be safe about it and monitor what information is put out.