Unfolding stories of lives past

Volunteers at NSU participated in unfolding sections of the AIDS quilt in recognition of World AIDS Day Tuesday.

By TEDDYE SNELL

If every picture tells a tale, hundreds of stories were on display in the Northeastern State University Herb Rozell Ballroom Tuesday.

Dec. 1 was World AIDS Day, and eight sections of the AIDS quilt were unfolded during a ceremony at NSU in recognition of the event.

Student volunteers took the job seriously, removing their shoes and working in unison through the ceremonial process, circling the floor with each section before laying it reverently in its appointed place.

As each section was unfolded, names of AIDS victims whose lives were remembered in the sections were read aloud.

Patti Barker, of the Oklahoma Blood Institute, said she remembered the first time she saw the AIDS quilt on display.

“It was back in 1989 or ‘90 in Tulsa,” said Barker, “and they were traveling with the whole quilt back then, not just sections. It was displayed at the Civic Center. It was hanging in panels, and I rounded the corner and saw my favorite high school English teacher panel right in front of me. I had no idea it was going to be there. It was one of those moments that gets frozen in your mind forever.”

The AIDS quilt - in its entirety – is internationally celebrated, weighs 54 tons and stands as a handmade memorial to more than 91,000 individuals who have lost their lives to the incurable disease. This is the second year NSU has hosted quilt sections.

Established in 1987, the NAMES Project Foundation is the international organization that is the custodian of The AIDS Memorial Quilt. The AIDS Memorial Quilt began with a single panel created in San Francisco in 1987.

Today, the Quilt is composed of more than 47,000 individual 3-foot by 6-foot panels, each one commemorating the life of someone who has died of AIDS.

These panels come from every state in the nation, every corner of the globe – and it’s the largest piece of ongoing community art in the world.

Four of the eight sections will be hung at the NSU John Vaughan Library, two will be hung at the NSU Broken Arrow campus, one will hang in the NSU Barnes and Noble Bookstore, and one will be hung in the NSU College of Optometry for public viewing through Monday, Dec. 7.

Dr. John Armitage, CEO of OBI, spoke to attendees at the ceremony about the reality of AIDS in the 21st century.

“Although great medical advancements have been made in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, the fact remains that it’s still a killer,” said Armitage. “Over 15,000 Americans died from the disease last year.”

Armitage said it’s a great honor to be back at NSU and see the quilt again.

“The first time I had the opportunity to see the quilt was here last year,” he said. “The physical presence of the quilt gives an emotional power to the losses. You just have to be there. People who have a chance to view the quilt often leave with an renewed commitment to fight the disease. It’s very empowering.”

Armitage said that the AIDS quilt serves as a great backdrop for NSU’s call to action, which is “be the change.”