Bacchus handed out pamphlets and free condoms to promote safe sex and increase awareness about World AIDS Day Wednesday in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center.

Bacchus stands for boosting alcohol consciousness concerning the health of university students. It’s is an international association of college and university-based peer education programs focusing on alcohol abuse prevention and other related student health and safety issues, handed out pamphlets and free condoms to promote safe sex and increase awareness about World AIDS Day Wednesday in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center.

Jamie Holloway, co-president of Bacchus, said their goal is to influence students to be safe and make positive choices in any situation.

Through Internet research, Holloway found that Dallas County has the second highest amount of people in Texas infected with HIV/AIDS.

According to avert.org, there are approximately 37.2 million adults and 2.2 million children living with HIV and during 2004, 4.9 million new people became infected.

The Web site also says, “Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25.”

Dr. Cathey Soutter, the Memorial Health Center’s coordinator of psychological services for women, said the Health Center offers free condoms by request and birth control on an individual basis.

Free and anonymous HIV testing is available at the Health Center as well as the AIDS Prevention Project, located at 400 S. Zang Blvd. in the Southwestern Medical Center.

For more information, call the Health Center at (214) 768-2141 or for information about the AIDS Prevention Project, call (214) 944-1050.