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Sunday, May 25, 2025

“Life isn’t fair!” says the 15-year-old girl whose parents just told her she couldn’t go to a birthday party because of a bad grade. “Life isn’t fair!” says the college student who can’t go out with his friends because of a 10-page paper due the next day that he hasn’t started. “Life isn’t fair!” says the wife at home who has to take care of her two kids and work on a proposal for her job. Well I’ll tell you whose life isn’t fair: the life of an individual suffering from HIV/AIDS — especially one in a low-income state.

These people have to live with HIV/AIDS on their shoulders. Some people have to carry even more of a burden if they are too ashamed to live with this disease in public. It’s like a big secret they want to keep bottled up in the darkest corner of their souls — something they are scared of sharing because they don’t know how things would change if it were public. Would friends still hang out with them? Would public ignorance cause people to avoid them? Would they enjoy daily activities?

Another thing that is not fair about this comes from the financial aspect.  These families might have to spend about $1,000 a month for the medicine to help HIV/AIDS. Some families can’t afford this payment and get help from the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. There are some individuals who are on a waiting list for this program because of insufficient funds. That’s not fair. Why should these individuals have to wait for some medicines that can save their lives?

That leads me to my next point. Those people suffering from HIV/AIDS have to live not knowing how much longer they have. It’s really a sad thing. Think about all those kids in other countries who do not have the money to buy another couple years of life.

With that comes the point of me writing this column: to inform you healthy college students that life is fair, and there are bigger things in life than missing the biggest party of the year. I write this to inform you about the struggles of those with HIV/AIDS. Go out there and learn more. Read up on some basics about the disease. Join clubs on campus to inform others. Spread the word. Help raise money. Help teach others how to prevent HIV/AIDS. Do whatever you can to help others realize that the lives of others living with HIV/AIDS is not fair.

Jessica Drew is a health education and behavior junior.

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