By: Elizabeth Bartek
Posted In: News
Photo credit: Erica Johnson
A span of the AIDS Quilt Rhode Island on display for World AIDS Awareness Day.
Photo credit: Erica Johnson
Sections of the AIDS Quilt hang from the balcony of the Pell Center.
Photo credit: Erica Johnson
A line of artwork blanketed from view to represent the number of artists who have died from AIDS.
Fifty-four tons of love is certainly hard to imagine. Those fifty-four tons of love symbolize the millions of people world wide who have died of AIDS and are represented in The AIDS Quilt, sewn by people all over the world and brought together as a reminder of those who have lost their battle with AIDS.
Three panels of that quilt hung in the Pell Center for the first two days of December, in observance of World AIDS Awareness Day. These sections are part of AIDS Quilt Rhode Island and their display was sponsored by the Social Work Club and the Gay, Straight, Lesbian and Bisexual Alliance. The panels that hung in the Pell Center have traveled all over Rhode Island and were made in the Netherlands, Venezuela and the Philippines by loved ones, friends and families of those who have died of AIDS. In conjunction with the AIDS Quilt, numerous pictures and works of art were covered with black trash bags on Monday. On each bag was hung a little sign: “The art community is affected the greatest by HIV and AIDS. This piece of art is covered in recognition and memory of the many artists who have died from the Disease.” Both the Social Work Club and GSLBA understand the importance of AIDS awareness as the number of individuals affected with the disease continues to grow rapidly each year. “I think a lot of people don’t even realize how many it affects,” said Miranda Ugalde, a member of GSBLA. “I don’t think that here it is so much of an issue, but I’ve also gotten the impression that people don’t care about things that don’t affect them.” The feeling that Salve students seem unaware resonates with Theresa Sousa, the president of the Social Work Club. “It’s important to create awareness because it’s not in the media and the number of AIDS cases has risen,” she said while waiting for students to arrive for a special mass to pay tribute to those who have died of AIDS. The lack of awareness, maybe of caring, was later confirmed when less then ten people were present for the mass. “This is even more important than it has ever been,” said Sousa about AIDS awareness. The Social Work Club and GSBLA have tried to bring AIDS awareness to the Salve campus with the 1,270,350 square feet of the AIDS quilt (about 3 football fields in length). Both groups wish for Salve students to see the importance of issues like AIDS and of other global concerns.
