More College Norms - Aids Scare

Diversity on campus

Parties and Relationships

Aids scare

Final words

That reminds me, I remember that wild and crazy conversation we once had surrounding homophobia. You see, like most people, we believed that only certain people got AIDS, because of their lifestyle. So, we were determined to remain clean, straight and sober, you know - ..."the All American type."

Little did we know that life is full of surprises. In fact, Calvin put us all through a surprising experience that completely changed our whole perspective of how AIDS can be transmitted. He was always, how should I say it, very popular with the ladies and all, even though Sue was his main love interest at the time.

But when Calvin came down with some kind of strange virus, we didn't know what to expect, except to encourage him to go to the health office for a blood test or something.

With everyone talkin' about AIDS, we just wanted to be sure that Calvin had not become infected with the AIDS virus.

He had me believing that the worst was about to happen. In fact, I was simply, horrified!! But in any case, I remained a true friend. I didn't care that he might be HIV positive or that he may have become afflicted with some other kind of illness. My only concern was that my roommate, my friend needed help. And, I was there for him.

Well, to make a long story short, Calvin's original blood test did come back HIV positive. However, according to the doctor's office, a flu shot Calvin had taken two weeks prior to his physical examination created falsely reactive resuls. Calvin was retested, and later found to be suffering from none other than mono, and of course, a case of party-itis. What a relief !! Withing a matter of minutes, Calvin was his old self again.

Since then, we have talked a lot about sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. And now we all see the world, or shall I say people, a little differently. Sure, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and of course, the chance to live their life as they please. We've tried hard not to be judgemental, but to respect and understand the differences in culture, life styles and expectations other students may bring to this community. After all, a University is supposed to be a place where we can all learn from one another.

 Last Updated On: 12/20/06