Amaris Alarcon
Fifteen years ago, when Beth Benne began as Pierce College’s school nurse, four days of HIV testing during HIV/AIDS Awareness Week would get more than 300 students tested. Now, her goal is to get at least 100.
Benne, like many others, believes it is important for students to get tested not only to make sure they are not infected, but to learn about the disease and to learn how to protect themselves. This information is what HIV/AIDS Awareness Week promotes.
HIV/AIDS Awareness Week is really a two-week event that starts Oct. 20 and ends Oct. 30. During these two weeks, speakers will come from “Being Alive,” an organization run by people living with HIV/AIDS, and there will be confidential HIV testing.
Being Alive speakers are a group of men and women who will come to classrooms telling students their personal stories about living with HIV/AIDS. These speakers will come into any classroom at the instructors request and speak anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes.
As of right now, there have only been nine instructors who have requested speakers to come into their classrooms, which will comprise a total of 16 classrooms.
Instructors can request speakers up until the day the event starts.
“They will bend over backwards to accommodate any teacher,” said Beth Benne, R.N., director of the Student Health Center. “If they can do it, they will do it.”
Besides speaking about how the virus has affected their lives, the speakers will also be promoting four days of free and confidential HIV testing that will take place on campus from Oct. 27 to Oct. 30 on the mall across from the cafeteria. No appointment is necessary.
“I can test for HIV at any time,” Benne said, “but my test is a blood test that requires a large needle into the large vein and it costs $9. I also don’t have the quick test, and that’s what the government pays for so that these testing agencies can come out and test the students.”
The quick test only requires placing a cotton swab inside the cheek, and will provide students with results in 20 minutes. The testing will be conducted Oct. 27 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Oct. 28 and 29 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Oct. 30 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
AIDS discoverer speaks to Pierce
This year, there will also be a keynote speaker coming to Pierce during HIV/AIDS Awareness Week. Dr. Michael Gottlieb, who identified the virus, will be lecturing Oct. 22 in Psychics Room 0914 from 12:45 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.
Even though there hasn’t been an HIV positive result in more than five years at Pierce, infections of the virus are growing.
“Over 60,000 people – more than ever before – are living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County,” Craig E. Thompson, APLA executive director, said in a news release.
The other thing to remember is that roughly 100 students get tested out of more than 20,000 that attend Pierce.
“We are only testing the tip of the iceberg,” Benne said.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), new annual HIV infections are 40 percent higher this year. Also, new reports state that there is a higher infection rate among black people.
“I have an indelible impression in my head,” Benne said. “When I was a new grad working in a hospital in 1981…we knew there was something bad going on but we didn’t know what it was.
“I realized several years later that I actually hung IVs with HIV-positive blood on people that were already ill with cancer,” she said. “I will never forget those faces and they will stay with me forever. I am passionate about this program because I remember the faces of those people that I took care of.”
The reality is that everybody is vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and there are people like Beth Benne who are there to provide services for awareness and prevention to students. However, if students are looking to become more self-aware and contribute to the cause, there are other options out there.
AIDS Walk in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Community College District team will be joining the estimated 30,000 people who are expected to walk the 6.2 miles for AIDS Walk Los Angeles Oct. 19.
Since 1985, AIDS Walk Los Angeles has raised more than 60 million dollars. The money raised supports the services provided by APLA and other local AIDS service organizations throughout L.A. County.
“We want students to come out and rally up to help raise money, especially with how the situation is right now,” said Raffael Montenotte, volunteer coordinator for APLA. “We’re hoping to raise roughly $3 million to $4 million this year.”
Joshua Tjaden, event manager for AIDS Walk, suggested that if students are not in the LACCD team they also have the option to join the APLA team. The APLA team alone has raised more than S9,000 so far. More information is available at www.apla.org.
Montennote and Tjaden both agree it is not so much about the money being raised but about the awareness gained.
“We feel it’s more important to be out there walking and giving a voice to those affected by the disease, than the money itself,” Tjaden said.
The Student Health Center can be contacted at (818) 710-4270.