H.I.V./A.I.D.S
On College Campuses
By: Nia Beals
H.I.V. and A.I.D.S. have become a huge problem on college campuses for a
long time. According to stateuniversity.com, one in every five-hundred people
have H.I.V. (Human Immune deficiency Virus) which when it is not taken care of
properly can turn in to A.I.D.S. (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).[1]
Some people have made the mistake of thinking that H.I.V. and A.I.D.S. are the
same thing. The main thing people do not understand is that A.I.D.S is the
final stage of H.I.V.[2]
Researchers have come to the conclusion that the H.I.V. /A.I.D.S. problem on
college campuses is because most college students lack maturity, do not know
how to handle peer pressure, or abuse drugs and alcohol. Another problem is 75-85%
of students, whom define themselves as straight, do not feel as if they are in
danger of being infected with H.I.V. This mindset is not good to have because
sometimes the symptoms of H.I.V. will stay hidden for up to ten years. Other
times one could begin to feel the symptoms in as early as a week. Some of the
symptoms of H.I.V. include headaches, fatigue, muscle aches, terrible diarrhea,
and difficulty swallowing.[3]
An example of this came from an anonymous male on reddit.com. This individual
had a one night stand with another male whom he met on craigslist even. Within
a week, the individual began to have flu like symptoms and was misdiagnosed
with strep throat. A couple of months later, it was confirmed that the
individual had contracted H.I.V., even though he used protection during the
act.[4]
The number of young people whom have contracted H.I.V./A.I.D.S on
college campuses is exponentially high. Every year Trojan Condoms releases the
“Trojan Sexual Health Report Card” that ranks the sexual health of majority of
the college and university in the United States. Unfortunately our amazing
school of UNC Charlotte was not on the list but several other North Carolina
schools made the cut. The rankings
included Duke at 32, N.C. State at 33, Chapel Hill at 37, East Carolina at 50,
and Wake Forest at 89. East Carolina
rankings really surprised me because of their promiscuous reputation. However,
the worst sexually healthy schools are Chicago State University (which is where
I was going to attend) ranked at 139 and Brigham Young University ranked at
140. Brigham Young University being ranked last in sexual health is alarming
because the university was founded on Mormon principles.[5]
Another alarming fact about the percentage of young people with H.I.V. /A.I.D.S.
is 71 percent. Also, of the majority of the young people whom have contracted
the disease are African American males.
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Today, many historically black colleges are trying to stop the increase of H.I.V./A.I.D.S. cases on their campuses. HBCUs have begun to enhance their sex education. Scientists have stated that the increase of the disease in African Americans is because of recklessness, homophobia in the African American community, lack of information, and denial. The state of North Carolina has developed “Project Commit to Prevent” to help educate students about H.I.V. Also, N.C. A&T at Greensboro has begun to throw safe sex parties that where students learn how to do things such as put on condoms the right way and play STD Bingo.[7] However, HBCUs are not the only schools that have tried to decrease the rate of H.I.V. among college students. UNC Charlotte just conducted their annual “Scarlett Fever” drag show to raise money for A.I.D.S. Walk. The annual A.I.D.S. Walk of Charlotte is sponsored by Regional A.I.D.S. Interface Network Also, UNC Charlotte happens to give out free H.I.V. testing every second Tuesday and Thursday of the month to students
[4] "I am a 21-year-old
college student who contracted HIV through someone I met on craigslist." redt.com.
no. 15 (2013).
[5] Trojan Condoms,
"Trojan Sexual Health Report Card." Last modified 2013. Accessed
March 28, 2014.
[7] nbcnews, "Black
colleges seek stem HIV cases." Last modified March 22, 2004. Accessed
March 28, 2014.
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