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Bailey Thompson<\/strong> | News Editor<\/span><\/p>\n 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 \u201cLouie\u201d Antonio Arce, come and speak before a new generation of Western students.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI 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 \u2014 I saw MEChA, I saw MSU, I saw Triangle Alliance \u2014 and all of them were me,\u201d said Arce. \u201cThese 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 \u2026 and I created Out and Proud. And I\u2019m so glad that it\u2019s (continued) for 10 years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n Starting off his story, Arce began by remembering a phone call he received on the day he was diagnosed.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis day was different because I know it was my doctor\u2019s office, and they had my results,\u201d said Arce. \u201cMy honest-to-God first thought was, \u2018I have it. I have AIDS, and I\u2019m going to die.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n After he was given the news, though, Arce shared how his perspective changed.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAll I could do to keep from losing it was laugh,\u201d said Arce. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Beyond that day, Arce shared that he invested time to learn things about HIV that he didn\u2019t know before.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI was learning so much. I always thought that AIDS was an actual virus, but \u2026 HIV is one thing, and AIDS is the status of your virus,\u201d said Arce. With this in mind, he has worked to take care of himself and to keep his CD4 count low.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI have been fighting to stay positive \u2014 both inside and out,\u201d said Arce.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBecause of Louie\u2019s story, we just want you guys\u2019s input about what we can do at the health department to promote testing and to make sure that you\u2019re aware of STDs and HIV and what you guys can do for prevention,\u201d said one of the health department representatives.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n