Florida State University - Renegade / Tally Ho Yearbook (Tallahassee, FL)

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Photo by Ayanna Luney 8 Student Life

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ivision 7

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Understanding brings the Tallahassee Leon County community together with the AIDS Quilt Names Project OVE ' SVISIT Photo by Ayanna Luney Never stop believing in love . And the greatest of these is love . Gone but never forgotten. These sayings and several hundred others were carefully stitched to fabric and sewn together as quilts to create the loving memorium. Friends and families of deceased loved ones gathered around the masterpiece with contrite hearts, remembering the good and bad times they had shared with the faces which appeared on each panel. For others, who had never experienced an event like this, it was time to learn and cast away feelings of prejudice, discrimination and ignorance. A year and half ago, the Golden Key National Honor Society began their Vriting a message of love, a student takes the time to reflect on the tradgedy that the AIDS epidemic has brought. 1 he names are read by volunteers during the display of the AIDS .Memorial Quilt. quest to bring the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt to the community. The Student Government Association jumped in and furnished the display fee of $3,500. Once the financial committment was met, Golden Key, Thagard Student Health Center and Big Bend Cares continued the long application process which made it possible for the Quilt to make its appearance at the Tallahassee Leon County Civic Center. The students were so determined to bring it here, Mary Penney, Co-Chairperson from Thagard Student Health Center said. We were going to do whatever it took. As mandated by the NAMES Project, a central CONTINUED planning committee was established to choose the Host Committee for the event. Interviews were held and a committee of 18 members was chosen to coordinate the event. Each committee was led by a student and community leader to ensure both avenues would be covered. Volunteers from around the area came together to help make the dream a reality. It was the most emotional experience I ' ve ever been through, Tracy Henningfeld said. I noticed how close to home this disease really was. Through my volunteer work, I felt as though I was really making a difference. It was refreshing to see people come together and help one another. The NAMES Project began in 1987 when Cleve Jones and fellow San Franciscans saw the need for public awareness about the pain and suffering connected with the disease. The first display of the Quilt in its entirety was in October of the same year in Washington, D.C. It consisted of 2,000 panels. Its second full appearance was in 1992. It measured approximately 15 football fields and housed over 22,000 panels from worldwide donors. The 29 ton Quilt would never be shown in its entirety again due to its enormous size. Each panel symbolized the victim ' s lives through the eyes of relatives, friends and lovers. Anger, fear, frustration and joy was depicted on each with the aid of certain materials such as lace, leather, taffeta, buttons, flags, poems, songs, articles of clothing, human hair, love letters, teddy bears and favorite photos. It was interesting to see a comparison between old and new panels, Henningfeld said. Before there was just a name, now there was a tribute with memorabilia. AIDS has finally become more ' acceptable ' and now the people who have died can be remembered with the respect they deserve. Among the 600 display panels were flamboyant pianist Liberace and AIDS activists Kimberly Bergalis and Ryan White. Forty-one panels were dedicated from the Big Bend area during the solemn closing ON PAGE 10 By Amy Shinn Aids Quilt 9