CRYSTAL LUONG
Editor in Chief
I went beyond the confines of Malibu, beyond the commercial comforts of Third Street Promenade and beyond the self-indulgence of college life this week. I ventured into newfound anxiety to learn more about the human condition.
I was the subject of HIV testing, first at an Out of the Closet thrift store in West Hollywood. Then I did it again, at Pepperdine’s Student Health Center.
“Don’t let school get in the way of your education,” I often hear. In the hour-and-a-half that I sat on the paisley sofa at Out of the Closet, I learned more about myself and going beyond comfort zones than any Web site, guest speaker and fact sheet could relay.
As a point of clarification, I did not have worries of HIV infection entering my clinical tests this past week. I went through the tests to experience what many of us — students of privilege and safe upbringing — may never endure, the worrying, waiting and fear of a result that could alter our lives. In very many ways, the two test sites paralleled the realities in which they were located.
HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, destroys certain blood cells that are crucial to the normal function of the immune system. AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, occurs when the immune system weakens to the point where a person develops varying diseases or cancers.
The HIV/AIDS epidemic has claimed more than 20 million lives and another 39 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Youths under age 25 account for more than half of all new HIV infections each year.
We hear the numbers and explanations, but in the whirlwind of daily concerns, we shrug them off. Yet the threat is real, unlike the sheltered plastic that can pervade this campus.
“Kids are young and feel like nothing can harm them,” said John Nieto, general manager of Out of the Closet locations throughout Northern and Southern California. “All it takes is one sex partner.”
Test No. 1
Three Out of the Closet stores, in which all proceeds directly benefit life-saving medical care provided by AIDS Healthcare Foundation, offer free oral HIV testing in Los Angeles, and there are multiple mobile testing vans scattered throughout high-HIV-risk areas.
Testing in West Hollywood runs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays, and the site can reasonably accommodate six appointments during that time frame.
After walking in one minute before 3 on Saturday afternoon, there were already three names before me on the sign-up sheet. The list was full a half-hour later, and people continued to trickle in, hoping someone would leave before his or her designated turn.
Each appointment lasts 35 to 40 minutes, meaning I did not enter my test until well past 4:30.
The West Hollywood site primarily serves a community of gays and lesbians, according to Nieto, and as I waited in the store, I began to feel out of place. In retrospect, it was all mind mechanisms trying to adjust to a situation beyond my norms, convincing myself that I wanted to remain unseen and unnoticed, for which there was no reason of discomfort.
Two men sat on an art deco sofa in front me, waiting their turn, as another browsed items and paced the vicinity of the sign-in table before putting his name down.
Yet another man in his mid-20s began pensively reading the day’s news at a desk for sale to my right.
Journalistic instincts called for me to talk to him, but I realized that on this couch and in this waiting room, I could no longer be a reporter.
What is so valuable about services such as HIV testing is the comfort of privacy, support and resources.
I had the option of choosing between an anonymous or confidential session. For the former, I would not have to provide personal identification and contact information. For the latter, I would supply my information for confidential records but could receive an official certification of whether I was HIV positive or negative.
More than 90 percent of the time I spent behind the door of Room A in the back of the store was devoted to counseling — identifying risk factors, answering questions and looking for ways to reduce future risk of infection. The site’s practitioner proceeded to survey my sexual and medical history, log any risky behaviors and assess risk level.
In Room B, I was administered the OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test, which detects not the actual virus, but rather the presence of HIV antibodies. With a simple sweep of a swab across my upper and lower gums, I would be able to know results in as little as 20 minutes.
A positive test result requires further testing for confirmation, while a negative means there is no HIV infection — for the time being. It is necessary to note that there is a window period of three weeks to six months, as the practitioner explained, a time between HIV infection and the time at which antibodies become detectable in the blood using standard HIV antibody testing.
Out of the Closet stores have been offering the oral HIV tests for at least five years, according to Nieto. The service is funded with federal money and through private donations; patients are asked to contribute $10.
The chain of thrift stores started with one location at Atwater Village in Los Angeles 15 years ago and has expanded to 22.
“Wherever we do go, we’re accepted with open arms and support,” Nieto said.
Test No. 2
Pepperdine’s Student Health Center was my next stop Wednesday morning. What I experienced was drastically different from West Hollywood — almost casual in nature — and understandably so, considering the location, demographics and students’ risks of infection.
Two weeks ago, I called the Health Center to inquire about the free anonymous HIV testing listed on its Web site. I was told it’s only offered once a semester and to look for public announcements about this fall’s testing date. End of conversation. This was not a typical interaction for an inquiry of my nature, however, Health Center Director Nancy Safinick later explained to me.
The center tries to direct students to the appropriate resources and takes such concerns very seriously, she said, and outlined several avenues of care, including setting up an appointment with a practitioner, choosing counseling or going through free testing.
A week later, I called again. Because the Dec. 6 free-testing date would not fit my timeline, I asked for alternatives.
This time, I was informed that I could set up an appointment for a blood test that would cost $22, plus $10 for a lab administrative fee. Appointments not scheduled as part of the free anonymous testing are categorized as confidential.
The comforts of going to the Health Center are obvious: it’s close, convenient and familiar. Sitting in the waiting room, I was watching Fox News on a flat-screen TV, with issues of Good Housekeeping on the end table.
My appointment lasted no longer than 15 minutes, during which a sweet practitioner asked questions about my reasons for HIV testing and personal healthcare, in what I would label as a pre-test counseling moment.
I was presented with a resources and information fact sheet, signed a consent form and laid down, as the practitioner proceeded to take a vile of my blood. Simple and unintrusive, the procedure was done. I was told that I would receive a phone call the next day, most likely from her, with the results.
The Student Health Center has offered HIV testing for 12 years and follows an approach based on individual students’ needs, according to Safinick. The trained practitioners pay attention to vibes given by students, she said, and the amount of time spent on prevention and awareness discussion are based needs.
Since in 1997, the university has utilized the services of an off-site group to come twice a year and focus purely on HIV oral testing and pre- and post-test counseling, but resource funding was cut.
“We tried to fill the gap with our limited resources,” Safinick said. So this year is the first in which the Health Center has allocated money from its operational budget to continue free anonymous testing, which uses the same OraQuick method as AHF.
Twenty-two oral testing units are available per year funded by the Health Center.
Reflection
As my left arm experiences soreness from having blood drawn and I will not receive my second set of results until later today, I am reaffirmed about the importance of HIV/AIDS awareness.
The regions of the world with young people ages 15 to 24 most affected by HIV/AIDS are sub-Saharan Africa, South/Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. If that is too distant to perceive, people and organizations throughout the City of Los Angeles are confronting the epidemic. If you need to look even closer, Pepperdine is dealing with these issues, too.
There are perennial calls to action, which I advocate, but the first order of business is to step back to observe, or perhaps step in to experience, the zones of the unfamiliar and to learn about HIV/AIDS, as it has and will affect us for generations.
HIV/AIDS Fact Box:
What is HIV?
HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, destroys certain blood cells, called CD4 or T cells, that are crucial to the normal function of the immune system.
What is AIDS?
AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, occurs when the immune system weakens to the point where a person develops varying diseases or cancers.
How is HIV transmitted?
HIV can be transmitted through certain bodily fluids: blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk. The virus is primarily transmitted through unprotected sex, including vaginal, anal and oral sex.
11-17-2005