In honor of World AIDS Day, California State University, Long Beach’s Student Health Services offered free HIV and AIDs testing.
“We are letting you know all the resources we have through the Student Health Services offices,” said Annika Horvath, freshman women’s gender and sexuality studies major. “You can spin the wheel and win a prize for answering questions about HIV and AIDS.”
Horvath said that the purpose of the event is to bring awareness to HIV and AIDS.
This event only takes place every Dec. 1 in conjunction with World AIDS Day.
“We have Out of The Closet here offering free HIV testing,” senior health science major Zaira Ramirez said. “We also have the Latino community that are also providing free HIV testing through Bienestar.”
Ramirez said that there will also be a truck doing free HIV testing tomorrow.
Out of The Closet is a thrift store on Pacific Coast Highway and Redondo that gives 96 percent of every dollar they make towards AIDS health care and HIV Testing, said Steve Marine, a counselor from Out of The Closet.
“I am part of the fix sight division, so I do the testing at the Out of The Closet stores,” Marine said. “We also have mobile testing units that go out and give free HIV testing as well.”
Salud a la Vida, a student organization on campus, will be providing health education workshops at CSULB during the spring, public health graduate student Diana Aguirre said.
“We are focusing on healthy lifestyle behaviors, like reducing alcohol drinking, substance use and practicing safe sex,” Aguirre said.
Aguirre said that Salud a la Vida is hosting free testing today on campus and are here at the World AIDS day to support and show solidarity.
“We provide free condoms on campus for students because they are not actually available and given for free,” Aguirre said.
Students who would like to get tested for HIV can do so at Lot 17 today from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.