Free AIDS/HIV testing at GV

In observation of World AIDS Day Thursday, Dec. 1, there will be free HIV and AIDS testing in Kirkhof Center Rooms 1247 and 1249 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. No appointment is required and all students, faculty and staff are welcome to take advantage of the free testing.

World AIDS Day is an intersections event, which is sponsored by Campus Interfaith Resources, Disability Support Resources, the Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Women’s Center.

Questions can be sent to the Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center at [email protected] or call (616) 331-2530.

David Martin to speak at GV

The Grand Valley State University department of sociology presents a racial studies talk called “User ID/entity: Examining the Role of Online Interactions in Black Racial Identity Formation” Thursday, Dec. 1 from 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. located in the Loutit Lecture Hall.

Speaker David Martin, GVSU alumni and doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of Oregon, will examine how online interactions enable new identity formation and create new sites for those practices to be enacted.

For his research, Martin examined survey and interview data from 172 black college students and the content of their social media profiles and communication. Results show how students initiate online interactions across multiple social network sites depicting their racial selves.

For more information, contact Laurel Westbrook at [email protected].

‘Phosphorescent:’ Photography Senior Thesis

Sponsored by the School of Communications at Grand Valley State University, the photography program will present “Phosphorescent,” a collaborative exhibition highlighting nine individual students’ artwork exploring emissions of light.

The exhibition will open Thursday, Dec. 1 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served during the opening viewing, and all displayed images are available for purchase.

The exhibition will be on display through Saturday, Dec. 10. For more information, contact the GVSU Art Gallery at (616) 331-2563.

Suicide Prevention

The Grand Valley State University Counseling Center will hold a suicide presentation event Thursday, Dec. 1. The event is titled “QPR – Question, Persuade, Refer” and will take place in Kirkhof Center Room 2266 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The QPR program aims to dismiss common misconceptions about suicide, helps students recognize the warning signs of suicide, and empower students to save lives using the nationally-recognized QPR method of suicide prevention.

The event will also allow students to examine the issue of suicide from both a social and multicultural perspective while considering their own role in preventing suicide. The event is LIB 100 approved.