Jess RogenA large number of students at Washington University would agree with this statement: AIDS is not our problem. Most of us do not encounter someone who is HIV positive. We feel that it is a problem with which we will never have to ever deal. AIDS is out of control in Africa, not here in the United States, not here in St. Louis, and not on the campus of Wash. U. Yet while not at the same epidemic proportion, AIDS is here in the U.S., and I would venture to guarantee that that it is also on our campus.
In 1995, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College Health Association estimated that one in 500 college students is infected with HIV. Adolescents in the United States are currently one of the highest at-risk groups. Infection rates are also high among our age group for all sexually transmitted diseases. In 2000, the National Institutes of Health reported that approximately two thirds of all new STD infections in the United States were among individuals under the age of 25. An STD such as genital herpes causes the risk of HIV transmission to be as high as nine times greater for carriers than for those without it. How many people on this campus either do not know or do not tell that they have an STD?
Why do students at Washington University believe that this virus cannot touch us? I have heard it commented at this school that it is difficult to “catch” AIDS, and we really do not need to worry. In reality, it takes only one single act of unprotected sex to transmit HIV. Unprotected sex happens on this campus, and the fear of pregnancy overrides thinking about fears of STDs. We must become more aware.
On Friday, Dec. 2 at 5 p.m. in Laboratory Sciences 300, guest speaker Joel Goldman will present “Sex Under the Influence.” Joel went to college just like us. He liked to have a good time and party. He was the president of his fraternity and popular on campus. Today, Joel is HIV positive. When college was over, he continued to party, drink and have unprotected sex. His life has changed forever. We can learn from stories like Joel’s. The lesson is not to stop partying or having fun. We learn that the power to be aware is the power to protect one’s future.
Tomorrow is World AIDS Day, and Washington University is observing World AIDS Week. The international theme is “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise.” Everyone should attend the nightly events. We can keep the promise by doing our part this week and every week to help raise awareness on campus. Wear a red ribbon. Learn how to use a condom (and then actually use it). Ask about getting tested. And educate yourself. Be smart and know the issues. Protect yourself and the ones you love – and your fellow students at Wash. U.
Mark is a senior in Arts & Sciences.