AIDS Memorial Quilt is Coming to CSU, Chico
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 23, 2005
Kathleen McPartland
530-898-4260
Pedro Douglas
530-898-6070
AIDS Memorial Quilt is Coming to CSU, Chico
Twenty panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, the largest ongoing community art project in the world, are coming to California State University, Chico on Oct. 19 and 20. They will be displayed in the Bell Memorial Union Auditorium from 9 am until 7 pm each day.
Begun in 1987, the AIDS Memorial Quilt is both a memorial to those who have died of AIDS and a powerful tool for use in preventing new HIV infections. The Names Project Foundation is the custodian of the quilt and oversees its display around the country and the world.
Pedro Douglas, director of Student Health Services at CSU, Chico, helped bring the quilt to the University of Connecticut when he worked there and knew that he wanted to bring it to Chico. He and student interns have taken two years obtaining local support, applying to the Names Project and organizing the venue and the activities associated with the display.
Each panel of the AIDS Memorial Quilt measures approximately 12 feet square, and a typical block consists of eight individual three-foot by six-foot panels sewn together. The panels will be displayed on the floor of the BMU with pathways between the panels.
Nineteen out of the 20 panels were individually requested once people learned that the quilt would be displayed in Chico. People who go to The Names Project Web site can see the schedule of showings and make requests to the local sponsors for a particular panel.
“I don’t think anyone can walk in the room where the quilt is and not be humbled by the experience,” said Douglas. “I know that when I first saw it, I didn’t know as much as I do now about AIDS and its victims. Each panel represents a person who has died, his life and the people who loved him; it was a humbling experience. I walked out of the room a changed person.”
Douglas stresses the importance of educating people about AIDS. “AIDS cases were on the decline for awhile,” said Douglas, “but in the past few years, there has been an increase in cases, especially among women and minority women.”
Melissa Pierce, MA, public health education specialist, Butte County Public Health, provided information to Douglas on current numbers for the county. Since the beginning of counting AIDS cases in 1981, there have been 245 cases. One hundred fifteen are still living and 130 have died. That is a mortality rate of 53 percent.
Pierce also indicated to Douglas that these numbers do not provide an accurate profile of cases, because many people move into Butte County from other areas and do not report to Public Health unless they are receiving services. Also, there are many people who have the virus and do not know it.
Mandatory HIV reporting only began in July 2002. If a person tests positive, the Department of Health must report it. Since that time, 84 people in Butte County have had positive blood tests. Eighty of those are still living; four are deceased as of the Aug. 31, 2005, according to the AIDS case registry
Douglas said that the main reason he is doing this is to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS and who is affected. “I want to change the face of AIDS,” he said.
There is an opportunity to volunteer to read Quilt names during the display. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Lauren Lee, student intern, at Student Health Services, 530-898-6070.
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