Concert Set for Feb. 4 to Benefit AIDS Awareness


By Christine Rowett

     For the third year in a row, the student-run Women's Center
will sponsor a benefit concert to raise money and awareness for
an AIDS-related organization. The event will be held Saturday,
Feb. 4, at 8 p.m. in Levering Hall on the Homewood campus.
     More than 500 area students are expected to attend the
concert, which will feature eight bands from throughout
Baltimore. Funds raised will go directly to AIDS Action
Baltimore, a nonprofit organization that provides emergency
financial assistance and support for HIV-infected individuals in
Baltimore and Maryland.
     "AIDS is killing thousands of women every year," said Tanya
Ochs, a junior in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and a
member of the Women's Center. "We hope that by educating the
public about AIDS, we have an opportunity to help the community
in a way we feel is badly needed."
     The Women's Center is a more than 10-year-old service
organization run by female students. Last year the group
sponsored a sexual assault awareness day with activities
including security walks on campus and round table discussions. 
     Scheduled performers are alternative bands Edsel, Maypole
and Tsunami, reggae groups Jah Works and Unity, pop artists Some
Things Coming, acoustical singer Lisa Cerbone and The
Allnighters, the all-male Hopkins a cappella group.
     "We're very grateful that they would think to contact us,"
AIDS Action Baltimore office manager Jeffrey Grabelle said of the
Women's Center. "Being nonprofit, every little bit helps."
     Resource tables with information relating to AIDS and AIDS
prevention will be staffed by representatives of Health Education
Resource Organization, AIDS Action Baltimore, Chase Braxton
Clinic, the Baltimore chapter of NOW and Stop AIDS.
     Last year's benefit raised about $2,500. Tickets are $5 at
the door; food and drinks will be sold. Only those 18 and older
will be admitted, and valid identification will be required to
purchase alcohol.