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A portion of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display for the first time at USC Nov. 29–Dec. 1 as part of a weeklong commemoration of World AIDS Day.
The exhibit will feature three 12-foot-by-12-foot blocks from the national quilt. Each block includes eight panels, and each panel represents a life lost to AIDS. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
“We want to get the word out to faculty and staff to encourage them to bring their students, in the last few days of the semester, to see the quilt while it’s here and to be a part of USC history,” said Adele Markowitz, USC’s program director for Sexual Health. “We don’t have this opportunity very often. I’ve seen portions of the quilt on two other occasions. It’s a very, very moving experience.”
The Memorial Quilt display will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 29, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 30, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 1 in the Capstone Conference Room. Other events during the week include free HIV testing and a Candlelight Vigil on Dec. 1, the international observance of World AIDS Day.
Free AIDS testing using OraSure for students will be offered from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 29 in the Russell House Ballroom. “They take a swab from the inside of your month to collect the saliva; so, there are no needles and no blood,” said Allison Waller, STD/HIV graduate assistant and a student in the Arnold School of Public Health, who is coordinating activities.
Students again will create panels for a USC AIDS memorial quilt that will reflect this year’s theme, “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise.” From 40 to 50 student organizations participate in the project every year, including University 101 classes, athletic teams, and Greek fraternities and sororities.
Brian Morgan, a caseworker with Palmetto AIDS Life Support Services (PALSS) who is HIV positive, will speak at the USC quilt assembly from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Dec. 1 at Davis Field. The rain location is the Russell House Theater.
“We’re very excited to have Brian speak. He’s been on national talk shows and is very well versed about AIDS,” Waller said. “PALSS works with HIV people in Columbia with treatment, getting the right health care, or finding a place to live and a job.”
After the quilt’s panels are assembled, students will walk them to a Candlelight Vigil and ceremony set for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 at the Statehouse. “The vigil incorporates the Columbia community,” Waller said. “Lot of organizations will come together, and there will be musical performances, poetry performances, and speakers.”
A World AIDS Day information table will be open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 28–Dec. 1 on the second floor of the Russell House. Information cards and AIDS awareness stickers will be available at the table.
“This year, we’ve designed an AIDS sticker with a red ribbon on it to replace the traditional red ribbon that was pinned on,” Waller said. “We’ll try to get as many people as possible to wear them on Dec. 1 to bring awareness up.”
Also, almost 40 SHARE (Sexual Health Awareness and Rape Education) Peer Educators will be placed strategically around campus to pass out stickers and information cards during the week.
“The SHARE Peer Educators will be in full force working on the campaign behind the scenes, putting the quilt together, and helping with HIV testing,” Markowitz said. “Deb Maddox is the undergraduate coordinator. She really is the one who made the quilt coming here happen. She worked all summer on it. The Residence Hall Association also has helped to sponsor the event.”
11/05
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From left, graduate student Allison Waller, undergraduate student Deb Maddox, and Adele Markowitz, USC's program director for Sexual Health, hold panels from the USC AIDS memorial quilt. Each panel was created by a student organization. 
