An AIDS vigil, sponsored by the University’s Network for Peer Educators, received an award for best campus program in New England at the BACCHUS and GAMMA Peer Education Network Regional Conference on Feb. 27 at Worcester College in Massachusetts.

The vigil, held on World AIDS Day last Dec. 1, was a collaborative effort funded in part by the Mosaic Initiative, a special program of the Student Government Association. Groups receive a $500 grant if they collaborate with three or more student organizations on a campus event. In this case, the Network worked with Hillel, the foundation for Jewish campus life; the Women’s Center; and Spectrum, the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender student organization.

With the proceeds from the Mosaic Initiative, the groups bought 432 condom "roses" to distribute in Gengras Student Union. Through AIDS Project Hartford, guest speaker Brian Libert talked about living with the AIDS virus and teaching others about it. University President Walter Harrison spoke about his own experience of losing a friend to AIDS.

The Network’s award is an extra-special triumph because its entry was chosen not just from AIDS programs but from New England programs with a wide range of topics. Said Rosalyn Dischiavo, the Network’s advisor, "It is an award for best program in anything. We won because we involved the most number of students. It was truly a campus event."
The Network Peer Educators is a group of students from all over campus who focus on the wellness, expression, passion, and life of other students on campus. The group has sponsored other programs, such as Safe Sex Awareness Week, Sexual Assault Awareness Week, Take Back the Night, and the Mocktails Contest held during Alcohol Awareness Week. It has created and distributed "safe-break kits" for spring break as well as information on drunken driving and alcoholism.