As children of the ’80s, most of us have grown up in a
world always living with the AIDS epidemic.
We’re lucky not to have been conscious while ignorance was
spreading as fast as the disease ““ when people thought you
could get it from kissing, from using public rest rooms, or from
sharing glasses.
Now we may be positive we know the means of contraction and
prevention, but do we positively know whether we’re negative
or positive?
We may even be on a college campus with a health center offering
confidential HIV tests, but if you’re not currently enrolled
in Roger Bohman’s course, AIDS and Other Sexually Transmitted
Diseases, you probably aren’t hearing much talk about
HIV/AIDS.
The days of mandatory health classes are over, and sadly,
unprotected sex still happens. (According to a survey by the
Society for Adolescent Medicine, 56 percent of college students are
sexually active and 73 percent of those have reported engaging in
unprotected sex while in college.)
Still don’t believe you’re at risk for an STD? Well,
studies also show that one in every five people has an STD. Think
about it: That’s about one person or more in every circle of
friends and with those kind of odds, you’ve probably dated,
are dating, or will date someone who is or has been infected.
Are you starting to freak out that you might have an STD?
I’ve got some good news: All you have to do to solve the
mystery is get tested. Admittedly, getting tested in and of itself
can be difficult. I mean, it’s confidential, cheap and free,
and oh yeah ““ some feel there’s a stigma attached.
Jenny Wood, a general representative on the undergraduate
student government, wants to challenge this problem by organizing a
week this winter for students to get tested on campus.
Wood decided to pour her energy into an official campus
“get tested” week because she believes “STDs are
very much ignored, stigmatized and not addressed by a lot of
programming.” And if they are addressed, she says, students
often turn away just because of the stigma.
Regarding the importance of getting tested, Wood puts it
practically.
She rationalizes that getting tested for STDs, and especially
for HIV, is just like going to the optometrist or dentist for
routine check-ups.
Getting tested is quicker than a physical, less painful than
getting a cavity filled, and more important than getting reading
glasses. So why can it seem so frightening?
“People are afraid to get tested,” Bohman says,
“because they don’t want to know the answer to the
question.”
But ignoring the question doesn’t change the answer, or
the consequences.
And apparently, some still ignore HIV as a problem because this
generation wasn’t the one shocked with AIDS’ first
discovery. Bohman cites rising rates of contraction among younger
gay men who aren’t as afraid of HIV because they
haven’t lost half their friends to the disease.
Still a little scared to get tested? Take a friend along or go
in groups.
Once you’ve been tested, how do you stay clean? Require
sexual partners to get tested before you’ll sleep with them.
Even if your boyfriend or girlfriend says he or she has never had
unprotected sex, you should trust science more than someone who
wants to get into your pants.
And after you get tested, tell people about it. You’ll be
helping to relieve the stigma just by telling others you’re
clean and you’re sure of it.
Bonos is the 2004-2005 managing editor. E-mail her at
lbonos@media.ucla.edu after you get tested, and she’ll send
you a gold star.