Two Student Groups Earn Money for AIDS

The Harvard Krokodiloes and the AIDS Education Outreach (AEO) made several thousand dollars for AIDS-related charities this weekend, according to members of the student groups.

By contributing the proceeds from a Friday night Valentine's Day Ball and a Saturday evening Krokodiloes concert, the student groups made money for two charity organizations and tried to raise student consciousness about safe sex, said students involved with the events.

The Saturday night concert, featuring the Krokodiloes and the Princeton Tigerlilies, drew a crowd of 1100 students to Sanders Theater, said Krokodiloes General Manager Paul M. Lincoln.

The Valentine's Day Ball on Friday night, which was organized by the AEO, also contributed its procedes to charities, said Lincoln. Students who attended the ball were given a dollar off admission to the concert.

Two local charities benefited by the weekend's events: Seton Manor, a shelter for homeless people with AIDS, and the Dimmock Community Health Center, which specializes in AIDS education for women, children and minorities said Lincoln.

Although he said the groups made several thousand dollars for the charities, Lincoln said they had not yet counted the money.

Explaining why they decided to contribute the money, Krokodiloes' Director Todd J. Fletcher '91 who arranged four of Saturday night's pieces, said that "we are in a position, as the oldest singing group, to donate the proceeds of a major concert to charity."

"We wanted to use our talents not only to entertain people but to help people as well," he said.

In keeping with the AIDS-awareness motif of the weekend, safe-sex packets were given to all couples at the Valentine's Day Ball and condoms were tossed out to audience members at the Krok's concert.

While some students saw the emphasis on sex in Saturday night's concert as tacky, Fletcher said that "it didn't seem out of character" with the event's theme.