Communications class holds clothes drive for AIDS testing

Students from Santa Monica College's Communications Studies 16 class held a clothes drive on Tuesday to raise money for free HIV/AIDS testing. Their professor, Carlos Flores, who teaches the class on the Fundamentals of Small Group Discussion, supervised the event.

The purpose of the assignment was for students to come together and pick a cause they wanted to work with.

“With all the things we’ve discussed in this course, it’s all about the fundamental need for group work and interdependence since students are constantly placed in positions where they’re required to collaborate with one another,” Flores said.

The organizers of the clothes drive decided to team up with Out of the Closet, a thrift store with multiple locations that donate 96 percent of every dollar towards patient healthcare and free AIDS and STD testing.

“I believe that nowadays there is not that much talk about AIDS, but there is still a need for awareness,” said Elizabeth Danthus, one of the five students organizers.

Another of the students at the table, Joshua Bailey, added that this event was timed well because people are in the midst of spring cleaning this season.

“Our minimum goal was just to fill up this bin but it looks like we’ve exceeded this goal, which shows that students are willing to donate and give back to the community,” Danthus said.

While the event was part of a semester long project, the students don't see a letter grade as the end all accomplishment.

"An 'A' doesn't even matter, we just want to make a difference," said Danthus.

For those who missed the chance to donate on Tuesday, clothes can still be dropped off before or after Flores’ Communications Studies 16 class which meets Tuesday and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. in Letters and Sciences 106.