U. officials evaluate AIDS program

To investigate anonymous testing option Although HIV/AIDS Awareness Week was nearly canceled this year, and many of its events drew fewer than ten participants, University leaders who attended a meeting last Wednesday to discuss the week and AIDS education on campus thought it was a success. Officials evaluated the week and discussed the continuation of education on the AIDS throughout the year and the feasibility of providing anonymous HIV testing on campus. At the meeting, Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson told participants, including representatives from Facilitated Learning About Sexual Health and Student Health Services, that future HIV awareness programs would be planned by committees. Sub-committees will be monitored by a single oversight committee, directed by Larry Moneta, the newly appointed associate vice provost for university life. One sub-committee will deal with policy issues for faculty and staff, another will focus on educational efforts, promote FLASH and work to include graduate and faculty communities and a third will deal with AIDS programming throughout the year along with HIV/AIDS Awareness Week. Michael Polgar, a graduate student in sociology who attended the meeting as a GAPSA representative, said that while most people see prevention as their primary goal, there are a lot of other issues such as counseling, social stigmas and interaction with victims of AIDS and their eventual death. "Education should be more than teaching people about condoms," Polgar said. Polgar also said that a major issue at the meeting was involving more groups at the University in AIDS awareness programming. "I think the faculty was missed at HIV Week," he said. Another issue that was addressed at the meeting was capturing people's interest in HIV awareness and convincing them that they are susceptible to the disease. "People won't go to lectures and workshops because they feel 'it doesn't happen to me,'" Acting Director of Student Health Evelyn Weiner said. "When you are young in general there is a sense that these things don't happen [to you]." Weiner further remarked that even though students know about protection, surveys show that they are not taking necessary precautions when they engage in sex. VPUL Morrisson said that while all sessions were not well attended, they were well received and gained a lot of attention. "I think people thought the week was successful," Morrisson said. Many of the meeting's participants agreed that the better attended sessions involved peer education. "The best efforts are efforts done in conjunction with students," Morrison said. But one event, the free anonymous HIV testing held at the Christian Association, was overwhelmed with students. Over 130 people showed up to be tested at an event that many said was not well publicized. More than 40 people were turned away even though a phlebotomist worked over time and two extra counselors from a testing clinic were called in. Student Health currently provides the University community with confidential HIV testing at a cost of $67. With anonymous testing, only the person tested receives the results which are identified with a number. The tests done at Student Health are recorded in the student's medical file but are only released upon the person's written consent. Many people discourage confidential testing in most circumstances because of possible backlashes if the information is inadvertently revealed to unauthorized persons. "Unless a student has been in a healthcare accident . . . it's not something I'd advise a student to do because it comes back to haunt you," Student Health Educator and Nurse Practioner Kate Webster said. Morrisson said that interest was expressed at the meeting for providing anonymous HIV testing on campus, but that there are many issues which must be investigated. According to Weiner these issues include securing anonymity, quality control, counseling and treatment. An idea discussed at the meeting involves establishing a cooperative arrangement with an anonymous test site already existing in Philadelphia where it would visit campus periodically. This idea would eliminate concerns that state funding for such a site on campus would draw funding away from already existing sites. An additional problem that Weiner said must be addressed at future meetings involves the laws governing services provided to students through Student Health. Under current policies, the nature of all visits must be recorded. "It's illegal for me to throw away a medical record or a piece of paper," said Weiner. In addition, Student Health faces the problem that if a student tests positive for HIV under an anonymous testing system, doctors cannot begin treatment unless the student requests it. This commitment to anonymity conflicts with Student Health's professional responsibility to treat students infected with HIV. "We see you as patients, we don't see you as a public health screening process," Weiner said.

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