Free HIV testing available on campus

Kevin Reynolds/ Roundup

HIV/AIDS Awareness Week will begin Monday, Oct. 17, at Pierce College.

This event has been hosted at Pierce for over 19 years, according to Director of the Student Health Center, Beth Benne.

Free and confidential HIV testing will be offered on campus in Parking Lot 1 on Oct. 24 from 2 to 7 p.m., Oct. 25 and 26 from 9 a.m. to 3p.m., and Oct. 27 from 2 to 7 p.m.

Both Pierce students and non-students are welcome to participate. Results only take 20 to 30 minutes to process.

“Knowledge is power,” said Benne. “It’s not the death sentence it use to be but nobody wants to spend the rest of their lives with this virus.”

There will be speakers appearing in some classrooms from the “Being Alive” organization to talk to students about living with HIV/AIDS. “Get tested,” said Benne. “It just makes sense.”