With World AIDS Day around the corner, Binghamton University student groups teamed up to discuss the disease’s global impact and educate their peers about sexual health.

Two members each from the Charles Drew Minority Pre-Health Society and the African Student Organization sat on a panel in front of 30 students that participated in an open discussion Thursday titled, “AIDS: How Can We Do Better?”

Keara Caughman, a discussion panelist and a senior double-majoring in biology and chemistry, said education is key.

“It does not matter what age you are,” Caughman said. “Educating each other brings more of an understanding about this disease. It is not something that you just learn from getting it; you want to prevent from getting it. Knowledge is key.”

Miranda Nortey, president of the Charles Drew Minority Pre-Health Society and a senior majoring in biology, said students should be informed about HIV/AIDS prevention and testing.

“Our goal was letting people know about the AIDS/HIV epidemic and giving them ways to prevent it and showing them different types of techniques to encourage their partners to get tested as well,” Nortey said.

Taisha Destin, vice president of the Charles Drew Minority Pre-Health Society and a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience, said one way students can protect themselves against HIV/AIDS is through communication.

“Telling your friends is something [that] can really help,” Destin said. “It is one thing to hear it from a professor or a faculty member, but it is another thing when you hear it from a friend, such as getting tested together or something like that. If you just have an environment where you can just talk openly about it with a friend or in groups and have more organizations on campus, I think that is a great way of promoting safe sex.”

Tebebe Makonnen, a sophomore majoring in theater, attended the panel and said it is important to talk about HIV/AIDS because it affects many different people.

“I think that it was great that we could all sit down and discuss the AIDS disease in honor of the World AIDS Day because it is important for everybody to keep the AIDS disease close to our hearts and in our minds,” Makonnen said. “There are people that have to deal with this that are our friends, families and loved ones that are in need of our help.”

Panelists encouraged students to take advantage of various contraceptives offered for free by campus Health Services and heads of the residential communities to promote safe sex and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.