Indiana Memorial Union hosted sections of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt during the weekend of November 12th.
The Quilt was started by gay rights activist Cleve Jones in 1985 during an annual march in San Francisco as a way to remember those in the city who had died from AIDS. It initially began with around 1,000 names, but, now, has accumulated to over 110,000. All these names are displayed throughout the Quilt’s 50,000 panels.
Of the 50,000 panels, IU had the privilege of displaying 240 across 30 sections. Each panel, or patch, signifies at least one individual who has died from HIV/AIDS. Every section houses a 12×12 block, with each block holding eight panels. The gargantuan quilt weighs in at 54-tons, but every inch is intentional and intimate.
Planning Committee Member and Health and Wellness Educator, Genevieve Labe, said the Quilt acts as a memorial, with every panel the length of a coffin.
“Each panel represents a person, like I said. So, there’s a big story behind them, you get to know them,” Labe said.
Hoosiers working the exhibit called out the names displayed across the 240 panels. They also honored other individuals who had lost their lives to HIV/AIDS that weren’t represented on the Quilt. These individuals had some connection to either Indiana University, Bloomington, or Indiana.
“We’ll read them as a way to continue their memory, and make sure that the memory of the people who have died of AIDS aren’t forgotten,” Labe said.
Indiana University brought it back to Bloomington after five years to increase students’ awareness and education on HIV/AIDS.
IU School of Public Health Faculty Member, Heather Eastman-Mueller, said many students are unaware of the disease and its global impact.
“We brought it back so that students get an idea of where we’ve come, kind of elevating the voices of people who have been affected, and also to bring awareness about knowing your status of HIV,” Eastman-Mueller said.
Coordinators said they hope the exhibit helped destroy preconceived notions and stereotypes.
“People are stigmatized and criminalized for their HIV status. So, recognizing and knowing that people are humans, first, and their disease is just a disease,” Eastman-Mueller said.
IU junior and Quilt Monitor, Raya Haghverdi, said it helped personalize the disease and allowed her to better connect with all those who had been affected.
“It really brings it down to the human level. You kind of know, like, all these victims are not just numbers or stats, they’re real people,” Haghverdi said.
Panning Committee Member, Kim Naeseth, said she hopes the display helps strengthen students’ support of the HIV/AIDS community.
“While it’s no longer a death sentence that it has been in the past, it’s still an illness that we need to recognize and provide support to people who are living with it,” Naeseth said.
Planning committee members said they hope it catalyzes students to take preventative action, spread awareness on HIV/AIDS and its history, and increase empathy.
In addition to the AIDS Memorial Quilt display, there was a history walk, panel discussions, Jacobs School of Music performances, a Drag show, and free HIV testing.