On Wednesday, December 5 balloons were released to increase AIDS awareness. Although I support the goal of awareness immensely, I dislike the idea of causing another problem in the process. Balloons do not help AIDS victims, nor do they help to deter the spread of the disease. Balloons do ascend into the air and break and come back down to earth, causing problems for area wildlife.There are several areas where balloon releases are prohibited and there are guidelines to follow in areas where it is allowed, which I am not sure were followed. This release, despite the good cause, merely displays ignorance of what people really can do to help AIDS. Wearing red and releasing balloons seems more of a publicity stunt, a tooting of one’s own horn, a promotion of personal agendas, rather than an honest effort to help. Let’s try to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.Caitlin MonahanSenior French Major