Purdue News
Purdue NewsThe display is the only one scheduled in Indiana during 1997, said Helen N. Wood, program services adviser for the union and display coordinator. "We are eager to play host to this poignant exhibit next month," Wood said. "The panels are a moving tribute to the tens of thousands of people who have died from AIDS."
Among the 904 panels from The Names Project Quilt that will be on display will be those commemorating Indiana AIDS victims Ryan White and Amy Sloan. The entire Quilt project includes more than 42,000 panels from all 50 states and 40 foreign countries. The display is being sponsored by the Purdue Quilt Coalition, a student organization.
The display will be open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 17 and 18.
The idea of bringing the quilt to campus was conceived by the Purdue Student Union Board. "We wanted to make people aware that no one is immune from the disease," said Cindy Harms, president of the Purdue Quilt Coalition. "The fastest-growing segment of newly infected people are 18- to-24 year-old females."
A series of lectures sponsored by the Purdue University School of Liberal Arts in conjunction with the quilt display is aimed at increasing awareness about the effects of AIDS and HIV on society.
The lunch-hour brown bag talks are free. Persons are invited to bring their own lunch; coffee and tea will be provided. The lectures are:
People interested in creating panels for the AIDS Memorial Quilt can attend workshops Nov. 1, 3 and 4 in Room 231, Matthews Hall. More information about the workshops is available from Jeannie Navarre, (765) 494-8356.
The quilt began in San Francisco when Cleve Jones, a longtime San Francisco gay rights activist, searched for a way to make people understand the overwhelming loss and frustration affecting him and so many of his friends.
In June 1987, Jones spray-painted his friend's name, Marvin Feldman, onto a piece of cloth approximately the size of a grave. Friends, acquaintances and strangers joined the effort by making panels of their own. Soon, thousands of people across the United States and around the world were adding names and expressing their emotions by creating hand-made memorials for the loved ones they had lost to AIDS.
The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. In 1990, "Common Threads," a documentary film about the quilt, won an Academy Award.
More information about The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt is available at the foundation's web site: http://www.aidsquilt.org or by contacting the local display organizers at quilt@pmu.purdue.edu or (765) 494-8908.
CONTACTS: Wood, (765) 494-8907; e-mail, hnwood@pmu.purdue.edu
Jeffrey L. Sterrett, marketing coordinator, Purdue Memorial Union, (765) 494-8974,
e-mail, jlsterrett@pmu.purdue.edu
Joan Marshall, associate dean for administration, (765) 494-3663.
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
