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Belated World AIDS Day today at CSULB

Cal State Long Beach’s Health Resource Center is participating in this year’s World AIDS Day with information sessions, a panel discussion and free HIV testing this week.

Today is the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. According to worldaidscampaign.org, the event is meant to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic.

The on-campus information fair will involve approximately 11 on- and off-campus organizations, including the CSULB Sociology Student Association, the Associated Students of Social Work and Project Choice,
the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) and the Student Health Services Health Resource Center. There will be tables providing resources for students on prevention, risk reduction information and condoms from today at Maxson Plaza from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The WRC’s assistant director, Barbara Sinclair, said events like World AIDS Day are “phenomenal,” because they address misconceptions and inform students about a global issue.

The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Resources will be providing free HIV testing in a mobile clinic on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. between Lot 3 and PE-1 building, across from the University Student Union.

Wednesday’s AIDS awareness events will end with the “Life After Diagnosis” panel discussion in the Alamitos Bay Room in the USU from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. The speaker panel will be composed of Patricia Connelly from Women at Risk, Richard Peterson, a national spokesperson for the ‘HIV Stops with Me’ campaign, and Albert Ramirez from the Long Beach AIDS Foundation.

CSULB health educator Heidi Burkey said that the guest speakers will share their experiences and stories of how they dealt with life after being diagnosed with HIV.

HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, can enter the body through the lining of the vagina, vulva, penis, rectum or mouth during unprotected sex. According to the Health Resource Center website, “HIV is not a disease that selects certain individuals with certain characteristics, but it is a disease whose victims are those that engage in particular behaviors.”

The site suggests that people who may have been exposed get tested, because “about half of the people with HIV develop AIDS within 10 years, but the time between infection with HIV and the onset of AIDS can vary greatly from individual to individual.” AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Burkey said that the importance of the World AIDS events is to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS among college students, because students are the “future leaders who will be a part of the solution in government, health care and in other capacities.”

The Health Resource Center provides free HIV testing for students throughout the year. The tests are offered Mondays from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

HIV Test Counselor Christina Goldpaint said that she helps those who test positive to get in touch with the Long Beach Health Department, which then orients them through the transition to life after testing HIV-positive.

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