Bailey Thompson | News Editor
Out and Proud has been an event that has celebrated intersectional LGBTQ+ issues at Western since 2009. Ten years later, the MSU-sponsored event was able to have one of the founders of the original Out and Proud event, Joseluis “Louie” Antonio Arce, come and speak before a new generation of Western students.
“I created Out and Proud 10 years ago in 2009 when I joined MSU. I was a freshman, and I saw a bunch of things on campus — I saw MEChA, I saw MSU, I saw Triangle Alliance — and all of them were me,” said Arce. “These are all a part of who I am as a person, but there was nothing for gay people of color. So, I decided to work with my club … and I created Out and Proud. And I’m so glad that it’s (continued) for 10 years.”
Arce then shared that his journey has been one of a gay, Latino male who became HIV positive nearly 12 years ago and who is driven to use his platform to educate young people about safe sexual practices.
Starting off his story, Arce began by remembering a phone call he received on the day he was diagnosed.
“This day was different because I know it was my doctor’s office, and they had my results,” said Arce. “My honest-to-God first thought was, ‘I have it. I have AIDS, and I’m going to die.’”
After he was given the news, though, Arce shared how his perspective changed.
“All I could do to keep from losing it was laugh,” said Arce. “I felt alive. I had just received the worst news I had ever heard in my life, but for the first time I was living in the moment.”
Beyond that day, Arce shared that he invested time to learn things about HIV that he didn’t know before.
“I was learning so much. I always thought that AIDS was an actual virus, but … HIV is one thing, and AIDS is the status of your virus,” said Arce. With this in mind, he has worked to take care of himself and to keep his CD4 count low.
“I have been fighting to stay positive — both inside and out,” said Arce.
In light of this story, the organizers of Out and Proud also had representatives from Polk and Marion County Health and Human Services to talk with attendees about their sexual health.
“Because of Louie’s story, we just want you guys’s input about what we can do at the health department to promote testing and to make sure that you’re aware of STDs and HIV and what you guys can do for prevention,” said one of the health department representatives.
Overall, both Arce and the representatives wanted to make sure that students knew that there are resources available to them, including the Student Health and Counseling Center, online resources, Planned Parenthood and Marion and Polk County Health and Human Services.
Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu
Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton
