A 1,064 panel portion of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display in Heisman Field House during the first weekend in December. Organizers plan to couple the display with AIDS education sessions and a reading of names of people who have died from AIDS.
The AIDS Memorial Quilt was organized in the mid-1980s as a memorial dedicated to people who died from AIDS.
One aspect of the weekend's educational programming is to bring school-age children from surrounding counties to see the quilt. Jessica Pitman, a junior and head of the education committee, said that they hope to invite the students' parents as well.
"We hope it will make parents feel more comfortable about HIV, AIDS and sex in general," she said.
A signature square will also be on hand for signing by those who visit the quilt. Those wishing to make new panels can participate in panel making workshops as well.
An organized effort to bring the AIDS quilt to Oberlin began last year when members of ACT-UP Oberlin first approached the College administration and The NAMES Project Foundation, a non-profit organization which takes care of the quilt and uses it to raise money for AIDS education and research.
Since then a coalition of members from ACT-UP, other students, Associate Dean of Student Life Ken Holmes and President Nancy Dye have been working to bring the quilt.
Sophomore Jenna Hill, co-chair of the Oberlin College Display Host Committee, is actively searching for volunteers to help during the event. "We need all the help we can get. We can never get enough support," Hill said.
Bringing the quilt will cost approximately $12,000, according to Hill. She said that they expect around $4,000 to come from ACT-UP, and an undetermined amount from the Office of the Dean of Student Life. The Oberlin Display Host Committee is planning to fundraise for the rest of the amount.
Since the mid-80s, the quilt has grown to well over 35,000 separate quilts.
Holmes, who saw the quilt in Washington D.C. last year said, "It was breath-taking. It went on as far as the eye could see."
"I think that it's a powerful experience to see the quilt," Pitman said. "It somehow manages the AIDS epidemic more real than any speech, movie or newspaper can make it. The display is tremendous in size and scope. The large display adds something itself. It brings out a depth of emotion."
Holmes said that the basic philosophy of the AIDS quilt is to "put a human face on AIDS."
Related Stories:
