U. students view last of AIDS quilt in capital

WASHINGTON -- Over 40 University students travelled to the nation's capital this weekend to witness the final showing of the entire AIDS Quilt, whose growth in recent years reflects the expansion of the deadly disease. They joined millions who gathered outside the Washington Monument Saturday to view the patchwork Quilt which contains over 21,000 three-by-six foot panels. Each panel was created in memory of a loved one lost to AIDS. The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Alliance chartered a bus to the nation's capital Saturday to transport organization members and others from the University community to the showing. "We felt that it was a very important event to attend," said Jason Walthall, co-chairperson of the LGBA. "It is the last time that ]the Quilt[ will be shown in its entirety." This is because the Quilt has grown to the size of 15 acres, or the equivalent of 12 football fields, and weighs over 30 tons. The Quilt needs to be transported in eight trucks carrying a total of almost 700 boxes. Walthall noted that heterosexual people from the University also attended the Quilt showing. "Far too often AIDS is still thought of as a gay disease," the Wharton senior said. "It is spreading frighteningly rapidly among the heterosexual community as well. This affects us all." The idea for the Quilt was conceived in 1985 by Cleve Jones, a gay rights activist in San Francisco. NAMES Project officials said when Jones learned that 1,000 San Franciscans had died of AIDS, he asked people to write down all of their names. Jones taped the names to the side of a building, and upon viewing the tribute decided that it looked like patchwork from a quilt. Jones designed the very first panel to the AIDS Quilt in 1987, in memory of one of his friends. The individual panels range from the simple -- white cotton with a name painted on it -- to the elaborate, including flowers, jewelry, clothing, stuffed animals, photographs and flags from various countries. One panel included a man's pair of underwear briefs, and another contained the deceased's ashes sewn into a pouch. Second-year Psychology graduate student Peter Marvit made two panels for the Quilt, in memory of friends. "It was difficult to make the Quilt pieces in the first place. It was more difficult to give them up [to the NAMES Project]," he said. "It was nice to see them there. I wish I didn't have to." There was also an area of the Quilt where people could write messages in marker to friends who had died of AIDS but who were not yet represented on the Quilt. It was not uncommon to see these people dampening the Quilt with their tears as they wrote. "That was one of the more moving areas . . . to see people pouring out their hearts," Marvit said. "I heard one person say, 'I hope to make the last panel for the Quilt.' " Although many people described their experience as "moving" and "overwhelming," some were also angered at the entire AIDS epidemic. "I don't know how people can be so apathetic [to AIDS]," said Mary Delaney, a first-year graduate student in the School of Social Work. "It affects all kinds of people . . . [both] the people who have suffered from AIDS as well as their survivors and loved ones. It's an unnecessary loss." Rev. Jesse Jackson also insisted that the U.S. needs to do more for the prevention of AIDS. "We're more threatened by the AIDS virus than by Russia, [yet] we can spend $300 billion to defend against Russia," he said. "Russia is out of business, but AIDS is [still] in business. We have waited too long to invest in our resources." Many celebrities were also in attendance for the Quilt display, including Jackson, Miss America 1992 Leanza Cornett, actresses Lily Tomlin, Liza Minnelli and Judith Light and Tipper Gore, wife of Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Al Gore. Some of the celebrities took part in the continuous reading of over 27,000 names from the Quilt -- a feat which took over 16 hours. Many people said that they felt that the emotional strain was almost too great from both seeing and hearing so many names. "As soon as I stepped onto the Quilt site my eyes started to tear," said first-year Social Work graduate student Daren Wade. "And hearing the voices [of the name readers] crack when they got to their own loved ones . . . I'd walk and cry and walk and cry."