2008 Woodie Awards
Free HIV testing offered at show
By: Anthony Sodd
Issue date: 4/5/07 Section: LifeStyle
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Along with booze and gender-bending entertainment, students were offered free HIV/AIDS testing March 31 at the 11th annual Drag Ball. Ten people received the test.
A Washington University-based testing organization that specializes in targeting at-risk populations with free HIV/AIDS testing, Project Ark, administered the tests.
The tests, which were free to students, took less than 10 minutes to complete. The tests are 99 percent accurate test. The OraSure test, the type used at Drag Ball, is a swab administered orally. The test was accompanied by a survey designed to determine a person's risk factors. Results take two to three weeks to process, and must be picked up in person at Project Arks' headquarters at 4169 Laclede Ave. in the Central West End.
"There is a lot of stigma having AIDS be a gay disease, but if you look at our campus, almost everyone is within some demographic that makes them at some risk," said Quinn Gardner, a junior photography major and president of the LGBTQ Alliance.
Charlie Janski, an HIV/STD prevention specialist with Project Ark, said anyone who is sexually active should be tested once a year.
"People who are at the highest risk, we recommend they get tested every three to six months," Janski said.
People who are at high risk for HIV/AIDS include those who are sexually active, have used intravenous drugs or have four sex partners or more, Janski said.
"Having 10 people tested at a social event where they have to take time away from their friends shows that people care," Gardner said. "If people had the opportunity to get tested at their convenience, more people would do it."
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, concentrated efforts have helped to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS in the United States by more than 50 percent. However, the Web site also said HIV/AIDS is still the leading cause of death for African Americans between ages 25 to 44.
A Washington University-based testing organization that specializes in targeting at-risk populations with free HIV/AIDS testing, Project Ark, administered the tests.
The tests, which were free to students, took less than 10 minutes to complete. The tests are 99 percent accurate test. The OraSure test, the type used at Drag Ball, is a swab administered orally. The test was accompanied by a survey designed to determine a person's risk factors. Results take two to three weeks to process, and must be picked up in person at Project Arks' headquarters at 4169 Laclede Ave. in the Central West End.
"There is a lot of stigma having AIDS be a gay disease, but if you look at our campus, almost everyone is within some demographic that makes them at some risk," said Quinn Gardner, a junior photography major and president of the LGBTQ Alliance.
Charlie Janski, an HIV/STD prevention specialist with Project Ark, said anyone who is sexually active should be tested once a year.
"People who are at the highest risk, we recommend they get tested every three to six months," Janski said.
People who are at high risk for HIV/AIDS include those who are sexually active, have used intravenous drugs or have four sex partners or more, Janski said.
"Having 10 people tested at a social event where they have to take time away from their friends shows that people care," Gardner said. "If people had the opportunity to get tested at their convenience, more people would do it."
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, concentrated efforts have helped to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS in the United States by more than 50 percent. However, the Web site also said HIV/AIDS is still the leading cause of death for African Americans between ages 25 to 44.
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