Demonstrators sitting on their knees with tape on their mouths staged a protest Tuesday afternoon in Malcom X Plaza to raise awareness about the victims of AIDS.

The Intervarsity Christian Fellowship at SF State staged the protest also selling bright orange T-shirts that say “orphan” to raise awareness about the orphans of AIDS and to raise money for World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to fighting the causes of poverty and injustice.

Kyle Dickinson, a staff member of the ICF, said the demonstration has a dual purpose.

“To arouse something in the viewer about the demonstration," said Dickinson. "The second purpose is it gives the demonstrator the experience of being voiceless.”

Words such as “ignorance” and “invisible” taped on mouths of the demonstrators signify people’s reactions to AIDS victims, Dickinson said.

The ICF is an evangelical campus mission that has over 560 chapters nationwide and is partnered with Hillel House, Asian American Christian Fellowship and Health Education AIDS Liaison (H.E.A.L.) to raise AIDS awareness.

Stacie Boswell, 18, biology major, said one in 20 children worldwide and one in four children in Africa are AIDS orphans.

“We formed a social justice team and we feel that is a huge issue,” Boswell said, adding that AIDS issues aren’t getting the attention they deserve.

“A whole generation of people in sub Saharan Africa have been wiped out," said Boswell.

Hubert Lim, 26, started to do AIDS awareness projects this semester. Lim, a senior in microbiology, believes as a Christian he must be involved with causes like AIDS awareness.

“It's not just a cause, it's an emergency," said Lim. "We’re trying to put a face to the numbers.”

The IFC will be selling T-shirts on campus to raise AIDS awareness on Thursday, March 29 for $5.