The interruption of the coronavirus pandemic on daily life has, at the very least, shown universities the importance of testing for and preventing viral diseases on campus. Conducting mandatory tests on the student population for other viruses, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), could help foster a healthier and safer community for all. Although UCI’s Student Health Center does provide resources for students who reach out, there needs to be more action to get people to directly take care of their sexual health.
Health requirements for UCI admittance reflect the school’s lack of concern for STD testing. The mandatory tuberculosis screening and proof of vaccinations cover the basics of student health but do not address the potential of students unknowingly bringing STDs to campus. Even though schools cannot force people on what to do with their bodies, more can be done to educate students. Alcohol education and sexual assault training are mandatory because alcohol consumption and sexual demand are a big part of many students’ college experience. The same assessments and federal funding should apply to educating people on HIV. The more universities endorse sexual health check ups, the safer students would be.
UCI’s underrepresentation of HIV prep stems from the national disgrace of only about 28% of college students reportedly being tested for HIV among the high population of sexually active students across America. This is dangerous because people who show no symptoms can still spread it.
HIV-positive blogger for TheBody and Long Beach City College student Brooke Davidoff did not find out she tested positive for HIV until pregnant with her son.
“It was 2010 and I was three months pregnant, but if they put you on birth control in high school or college, even when they renew your birth control every year, they won’t test you unless you ask to be tested,” Davidoff said.
The problem is that most people will not ask to be tested, especially without having symptoms. Davidoff is comfortable talking about her situation nowadays. However, telling both her mom and her husband when she was first diagnosed wasn’t so easy.
“My mom lived out of state so it was hard over the phone, and with my husband, it practically ruined my marriage,” Davidoff said.
The couple was together three years prior to her test results. After her husband tested negative, he was still scared to get near her. Instead of communication, he turned to alcoholism. When HIV-positive students struggle to tell the people that they love, how are they expected to confess to campus support systems?
HIV workshops and confidential consultations on the Center for Student Wellness and Health Promotion website are a good start to more that needs to be done for normalizing safe sex talks on campus. Human sexuality is not a mandatory general education class like English, math, history and lab science. If it became an expectation to talk about sexual education and personal history rather than an exception, perhaps more people would be better informed about their sexual partners’ past. Couples would likely become more receptive to getting tested together.
The HIV take-home tests — available from UCI’s Student Health Center — seem encouraging in allowing people to test in the comfort of their own home. However, the requirement of a survey to determine eligibility seems daunting. The possibility of getting denied upon request is yet another fear to add to being identified with the stigmatized condition.
Some people are scared that testing positive for HIV can bring on a death sentence. In reality, getting tested means being prescribed medications that will prevent the disease from becoming AIDS. By taking medication every day, a person’s immune system is assisted in killing HIV infected cells, resulting in people living their daily life in a similar way as before their diagnosis.
The stigma against HIV-positive people is exacerbated by the virus being most common in marginalized communities. Nationally, 69% of people who tested positive in 2018 were gay or bisexual men, and more Black men tested positive than any other race — straight, white students are less likely to even consider getting tested, let alone test positive.
Universities must prevent students from seeing HIV as a virus reserved for the oppressed. Some straight people do not know they can get the infection while others won’t risk their sexuality being called into question. Regardless, Davidoff, a straight white woman, proves that immunity is individual.
Everyone at any university can conclude that school would be a safer place if all students followed procedures to reduce the spread of viruses on campus. However, not everyone wears a mask or a condom. Hopefully, 2020 has taught us the value of testing students beyond midterms and finals, and universities can create sexual education programs for a wider audience.
Amanda Abramovitz is an Opinion Intern for the fall 2020 quarter. She can be reached at alabramo@uci.edu.
