Students from all around Boston came to view the brightly-colored panels of the AIDS quilt on the walls of the Curry Student Center last week, taking a moment out of their own lives to reflect on those lives taken by AIDS.
“You get sort of the silent feedback,” said Student Government Association Sen. Billy Haddad said of the students he witnessed viewing the quilt. “You see people just appreciating it and having their own moments.”
Haddad helped bring the quilt to Northeastern through a combination of efforts between SGA and the Northeastern Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgendered and Straight Alliance (NUBiLAGA) for World AIDS Day Dec. 1. The co-sponsorship made the quilt’s presence on campus possible, Haddad said.
The quilt, which has over 44,000 panels and is still growing, was last displayed in its entirety in 1996, when it was laid out over the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Each panel, Haddad said, represents a different life of someone who died of the disease. Panels of the quilt travel all over the country, especially on World AIDS Day.
Northeastern student groups held several events spanning the entire week in an attempt to raise student awareness about the disease.
Wednesday’s “Call to Activism: The Local-Global Connection to HIV AIDS” forum, sponsored by the Department of Women’s Studies, the School of Law and the department of African American Studies, featured panelists who spoke on the importance of AIDS awareness.
“AIDS is associated with a number of different issues,” said Robin Chandler, director of women’s studies. “We have to be able to talk about these issues.”
Shwane Mauco, a graduate student of applied behavioral analysis and a citizen of Boswana, spoke about her summer internship in her home country and her experiences in AIDS education.
“The situation is pretty bad [in Boswana],” she said. “Thirty-seven percent of adults age 15 to 52 in Boswana are HIV positive.”
Later Wednesday night, NUBiLAGA sponsored a “Sex Toy Presentation” put on by Grand Opening!, a sexuality boutique in Brookline. Different forms of condoms, lubricants and other sexual paraphernalia were on display in an effort to teach students how to have “safer” sex.
“A lot of it is taboo,” said Ashley Smith, director of public relations for NUBiLAGA. “To get info out there through a fun, laid- back presentation like that where people can be able to talk about sex in a safe space is a unique thing for people.”
About 30 people attended the event, and students in attendance said the presentation addressed the topic of safe sex in an effective way.
“They advocated safe sex but didn’t specifically address issues with AIDS,” said Mandy Hagee, a sophomore English major. “It’s definitely important for people to know about AIDS, but it can also make sex sound gross and dirty. This [event] made people feel comfortable with their sexuality.”
The Feminist Student Organization and NUBiLAGA also co-sponsored “Let’s Talk About Sex” Friday night, which featured a “safe space” open discussion on sexual issues and a discussion with Jennifer Levine, grassroots organizer for the Massachusetts Planned Parenthood chapter. Levine answered questions on sexual healthcare for students.
Leaders in the organizations involved in AIDS week said their participation in the week’s events were important simply to let students know about AIDS prevention.
“I think it’s important to do AIDS week just to get the word out,” Smith said. “It’s a week of remembrance and also a week to educate people in the Northeastern community so that they’re aware of what’s going on.”
Students who viewed the quilt said they wished it had been more well known to students who would have had the opportunity to see it.
“I think it would have been cool if there was more of it, or if it had been more publicized,” said Amber Lea Kincaid, a sophomore theatre major. “Where I live, it was spread across a whole gym, which was way more effective.”
Others said the quilt was effective for students who use the student center frequently.
“It’s a really good idea, unfortunately not as many kids use the student center as they should,” said Stephanie Sheehan, a senior criminal justice major. “Definitely for the people who are here, it’s a great thing to see.”
Haddad said having the quilt at Northeastern during AIDS week was an important way to get the message out that anyone can be affected by AIDS.
“What I get out of the quilt and what I hope other people get out of it is that AIDS affects everybody,” he said. “It’s not just gay people or just drug users or the stereotypes from the ’80s and early ’90s; there are tons of people out there that are affected by it.”
– Correspondent Elizabeth Dudek contributed to this report.
