Anonymous AIDS test site opens

LaSalle College High '92 Norristown, Pa. A free and anonymous AIDS test site opened at the University's Dental School last October, drawing a full schedule of patients from the University and West Philadelphia communities. Evelyn Wiener, the University's HIV-AIDS Task Force Services Committee chairperson, estimated that more than 100 people were tested in its first two months at the clinic at 40th and Irving streets. Graduate students living off-campus constitute the majority of those going in for tests, she said. Student Health Services provides the clinic's supplies, and the Women's Anonymous Test Site of Hahnemann University in Philadelphia carries out the services. Currently, the site is open Thursdays by appointment. Associate Vice Provost for University Life Larry Moneta said the site is living up to expectations. "We hoped it would be used," he said. "I think it's very positive, to the extent that responding to HIV can be positive." Student Health only offers confidential testing for the HIV virus which causes AIDS. When a patient receives confidential testing, Student Health keeps a record of the patient's name and residence. Anonymous testing is a method of testing where no record of the person's name is maintained. Privacy of the site is an important factor to its clients, who rely on the site's anonymity. "I think that there has been an increasing awareness in the University administration that this is an issue that needs attention," Wiener said. "I don't think that the anonymous test is a dramatic shift, but I do think that it is a part of the determination that AIDS is a problem that affects everyone." Students have said they are very satisfied with the site, Wiener said.