After all, who wants an e-card telling them they might have HIV/AIDS? I know I don’t. But I would much rather know so I could begin treatment and protect others, regardless of whether the person who exposed me could bring themselves to tell me face to face.

Seriously. As a culture, we have developed the tendency to try to bash any knowledge of STIs out of our consciousness instead of actually adapting and dealing with it. Yes, it is an uncomfortable topic to talk about, but infection rates are also on the rise across the country and here in East Lansing. We need to talk about them to actually address the root of the problem, not just cover it up.

Some of the authors of the e-cards editorial may counter that they were not trying to cover the problem up. I find this hard to believe. Why was there no message about the importance of getting tested in the editorial? I challenge the authors of the STI editorial to get tested and know their status. Testing is free at Olin Health Center.

I’d also like to mention another way I see this same maladaptive tendency playing out, and that is with regard to blood donation discrimination against gay men. Yes, it is wrong that gay men can’t give blood. There are ways to test the blood to ensure virtually no risk of HIV transmission. But we have to ask ourselves, why do we care? I know a large part of it is because we don’t actually want to admit that HIV is a problem for our community.

Justin Lippi,

psychology and philosophy senior