An AIDS awareness and action event in Ticknor Lounge last night urged students to contribute to the fight against AIDS.

The Action Committee of the Association of Black Harvard Women (ABHW), Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Xi Tau Chapter, the Harvard AIDS Coalition, and Harvard Students of Color Against AIDS (SOCAA) co-sponsored the two-hour long event, entitled “Inspiring Action through Awareness.”

“This is an excellent opportunity for students to connect with local Boston community-based organizations that provide services for people at risk for HIV and AIDS,” said Joanna Short, a public health adviser with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Public Health and Science Office on Women’s Health.

Panelists from a variety of Boston community groups spoke about their experiences with AIDS prevention and advocacy.

They also encouraged students to volunteer in any capacity that they could.

Students could stay involved through voter registration drives and letters to legislators, said Babanina S. James, executive director of A Strategic Solution, Inc., a woman- and minority-owned business in Roxbury, Mass.

After the event, students talked with the panelists informally and had the opportunity to paint flags that will be sold to help combat the stigma of the AIDS epidemic in South Africa.

Students and panelists alike said the event was a positive one.

“The most inspirational part of this whole thing was finally seeing people of color helping people of color,” said Lisa E. Gordon ’06, former president of ABHW.

Joy A. Cooper ‘06, also a member of ABHW, said she wished this event had happened when she was a freshman.

“It’s about time that activism became an integral part of the Harvard experience,” she said.