Clifford Gentry has Crohn’s disease. He has survived tuberculosis. And he will have more battles with illness for the rest of his life – he has AIDS.

“Technically, I really shouldn’t even be here,” he said.

Diagnosed with HIV in 2001 and AIDS in 2002, Gentry said he was already dealing with Crohn’s disease, a serious chronic and progressive inflammation of the colon that results in nausea, fever and weight loss.

Gentry, a 6-foot 6-inch senior in interior design, said he was hospitalized three years ago, and his weight has dropped to a mere 165 pounds.

A year later, he was quarantined for eight or nine days because of tuberculosis. Upon release from the hospital, it took him eight to 10 weeks to fully recover.

Now, Gentry said he is educating everyone he can about AIDS to erase the stigma associated with the disease.

“AIDS is a serious topic that affects everybody,” Gentry said.

“[ISU students] need to know they are as much at risk.”

The disease is often associated with only those in the gay community or those who are sexually promiscuous, he said, but everyone is at risk.

The number of cases of black and straight individuals contracting the disease is rising, he said.

This week, in preparation for International World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, students at Iowa State and members of the Ames community are planning various events to raise awareness and remember all those infected with or suffering from the disease.

Pam Carnine, who helped found the now defunct AIDS Coalition of Story County in 1987 and is currently an HIV and STD prevention educator for Youth and Shelter Services and the Story County Collaboration, said despite advocacy efforts, she thinks people are becoming more complacent about AIDS.

With new medications and breakthroughs, she said people are seeing HIV and AIDS as less of a threat than it was in the past.

“This is a terrible epidemic, and we all need to fight like crazy to keep it from exploding any more than it already has,” she said.

Carnine said this is a collaborative effort, but she praised the bravery of the HIV-positive individuals who are in this year’s events.

One of the ways Carnine said they want to draw attention to the seriousness of the AIDS virus is by sponsoring a Day of No Art by shrouding pieces of art around Ames and at Iowa State “as a way of visually showing the losses we incur as a result of HIV.”

Many members of the art community were affected by the disease in the 1980s, which was the inspiration behind the day.

The shrouding will take place Tuesday evening and remain through Dec. 1.

Jessica Spooner, graduate student in educational leadership and policy studies and graduate assistant and HIV counselor at Thielen Student Health Center, said the Student Health Advisory Committee is sponsoring several events this year, including showing the film “Philadelphia” and displaying 100 ribbons to signify the number of Iowans diagnosed with HIV every year.

Gentry and another HIV-positive individual from Davenport will speak about experiences with the virus Wednesday night.

Gentry said although his condition has already taken command of much of his life, he hopes his efforts can spare someone else the hardship AIDS brings.

“I know I’ll have to take these medications forever, but I guess that’s OK. It’s better than being dead,” Gentry said. “If I can help one person and hopefully prevent them from contracting HIV or AIDS, I’ve done my job.”