Marshall has several activities planned in recognition of AIDS Awareness Week, including exhibiting the AIDS Memorial Quilt, which will be on display in Drinko Library March 4 – 20.
The AIDS Memorial Quilt is among the largest community arts projects in history. It is compiled of 50,000 quilt squares created in memory of a loved one who has died in the AIDS epidemic. The National AIDS Memorial brings sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to communities across the United States to raise awareness and promote education about HIV/AIDS, while remembering those lost to the disease.
“HIV/AIDS has been a stigmatized illness since its discovery in 1981. The stigmatization of the illness led to government inaction which ended the lives of millions of men, women, children and gender nonconforming folks,” said MegHan Sexton-Harness, research specialist with Marshall Libraries and a coordinator of the event. “Though HIV/AIDS is now a survivable condition, a lot of the stigma remains, and millions around the world are still dying from improper access to life-saving and expensive medications.”
A reception for the AIDS Memorial Quilt exhibit will take place at 5 p.m., Monday, March 11 in the Drinko Atrium on the third floor. Refreshments will be provided, and it is free and open to all.
At 7 p.m. that evening will be the first screening of the documentary “Common Threads” about the making of the quilt. It will be in Room 349 of Drinko Library. A second screening of the film will take place in Room 402 of the library from 5-6:30 p.m., Thursday, March 14.
HIV Screenings will be offered from 12-5 p.m., Wednesday, March 12 in Room 349 of Drinko Library.
A panel discussion is planned for 5-6:30 p.m. , Thursday, March 13 in Room 349 of Drinko Library. The panel discussion is titled, “AIDS in the Tri-State: Then and Now.” Panelists include: Dr. Len Deutsch, former dean of the English department at Marshall who served as an AIDS Buddy during the early 1990s in Huntington; Timothy Stanley, former president of the Tristate AIDS Taskforce; and former Huntington Fire Chief and RN Jan Rader. All are welcome to attend.