When Lupe Fiasco came to the Jack Morton Auditorium to promote the History Channel’s documentary “The People Speak,” he challenged students to find something we believe in, and fight for it. While this challenge was not broadcast to campus like Michelle Obama’s 100,000 hours community service challenge, it is equally important, and students should take its message to heart.

Like some students interested in advocacy, it was difficult to decide which issue was the most important to me: hunger and homelessness, stopping the genocide in Darfur, or HIV/AIDS. After some time, it was clear that I was most passionate about the fight against AIDS.

The HIV pandemic is especially important for those who live in D.C. The rate of HIV in D.C. is 12 times the rate of the national average, with about 15,000 people in the Washington metro area HIV positive. Our peers all over the United States and the world contract the disease through unprotected sexual intercourse, intravenous drug use and sex work. The disease often spreads because there is a lack of education and resources needed to make healthy and educated decisions. In addition, a recent report by the World Health Organization states that the leading cause of death and disease among women ages 15-44 is HIV/AIDS. These statistics only begin to demonstrate the effects of HIV/AIDS locally, nationally and globally.

Next Tuesday, Dec.1, is World AIDS Day. Advocates, including many who are HIV positive, say that every day is a World AIDS Day; in the United States, a young person under 25 is infected with HIV every hour of every day, while globally, the number grows to 140 young people per hour, or 3,318 young people every day.

During Lupe’s visit, he talked about how our generation does not share the activism of our parents’ generation. Participating in events like Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week and next week’s World AIDS Week is a way for students to prove Lupe wrong, and use our campus community as a tool to raise awareness and address important causes.

We hear over and over that our generation has resources at our disposal like Twitter or Facebook. We have witnessed the impact of these evolving media on events like the National Equality March on Washington, attended by tens of thousands, including student favorite Lady Gaga. Using evolving media to attend, promote and document such events is a step toward increasing our generation’s activism. But while it is nice to walk in solidarity, activism does not stop at marching. To participate in a movement, you must do more.

Here are some ways to get involved:

Educate yourself. The Internet is an amazing source of information where you can find all you need to know about the issue at hand, whether it is a woman’s right to choose, fair trade, gay rights, or HIV/AIDS. Many studies or news breaks are released but go unnoticed – find them, and educate yourself and others.

Join a student organization. For almost every cause, there is a student organization out there fighting for the same ideals. Find that organization and attend their meetings. See what you can do. For most organizations, it is never too late to join.

Take action. Follow the news on your issue and see what current actions are being taken. There are many organizations that need volunteers that deal with HIV/AIDS like MetroTeenAIDS and Food and Friends.

Communicate. Once you go to an event, contact your congressman or senator, update your Facebook status, tweet it, blog about it, BBM all your friends about it. Students here are wired through their laptops, iPhones and BlackBerrys. Use those media resources to help other people garner interest for a cause.

Now, I may not be Michelle Obama. But here is my challenge to the GW community: Many student organizations have been hard at work since the beginning of the semester preparing for World AIDS week starting Nov. 30. Educate yourself by attending a panel about HIV on Wednesday; take action by protesting in front of the White House on Tuesday; and communicate by telling your friends through Twitter and Facebook – you are fighting for a cause you believe in.

Check out GW World AIDS Week Coalition’s Facebook page: “GW World AIDS week” for more information, and start your activism.

-The writer, a senior majoring in international affairs, is the legislative coordinator for GW Student Global AIDS Campaign. and a member of Advocates for Youth’s International Youth Leadership Council.

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