I applaud UHS for highlighting the need for my peers to know their HIV status ("Group offers AIDS testing," Feb. 6).

As a young HIV positive person who was infected nearly fours years ago by someone in State College, people need to know that it can happen to them.

I know numerous students who are HIV positive and who would never have known that they were positive if they didn't get tested -- potentially also putting others at risk and never knowing it. Empower yourself to know your status, protect yourselves and communicate with your partners about your sexual partners. After all, if your relationship with someone dissolves you potentially are left with what the relationship leaves you.

It's OK to be selfish about your own health -- I wish I had been.