Los Gatos Weekly-Times Why we ought to touch the quilt By Molly Fumia Sometime on the evening of Sunday, Nov. 29, the dance studio at Los Gatos High School will be transformed into a shrine of sorts, a safe and welcoming space for The Names Project Aids Memorial Quilt. From Monday, Nov. 30, at 9 a.m. until Friday, Dec. 4, at 4 p.m., LGHS students and the general public are invited to experience this moving, provocative, life-affirming monument to the dignity and value of every human life. Those of us working on this event suggest that all those who are able should touch the quilt. The quilt represents a unique event in history. In 1986, from the depths of the gay community in San Francisco, rose a cry of anguish and frustration that moved civic leader Cleve Jones to see the loss of 1,000 of his friends as a mosaic of individual tragedies. He vowed that each of their names would be honored and memorialized, and the quilt was born. To date, 80,000 AIDS victims are remembered on 3-foot-by-6-foot panels (18 football fields, 52 tons of fabric), representing 21 percent of all U.S. AIDS deaths. Children, women, men, heterosexuals, gays, athletes, artists, politicians, business leaders, factory workers, Caucasians, African Americans, Hispanics and Asians are among the names. The quilt reminds us that young people and women are most at risk. Of the 40,000-50,000 new infections in the United States this year, half will be under 26, and one in four will be under 22. AIDS is spreading six times more quickly among women than men. The National High School Quilt Program surveyed thousands of students, and two-thirds of them thought more about their own chances of being infected after viewing the quilt. Of the 40,000-50,000 new infections in the United States this year, half will be under 26, and one in four will be under 22 The quilt is only getting bigger. The development of protease inhibitors have improved the quality of life and longevity for many Persons with AIDS (PWAs). However, this drug therapy is a luxury at $18,000 a year. In addition, recent studies have shown that the good effects are weakening; drug resistance is on the rise, and there has been no decline in new transmissions. It is important to see AIDS not as a limited epidemic, but a global pandemic. Of the 31 million known cases globally, 21 million of them are in sub-Saharan Africa, where AIDS education and drugs are severely limited. The quilt is a plea for a solution that is entirely possible: An HIV/AIDS vaccine. We know more about HIV than any other virus for which we have made a vaccine. A vaccine would be economical and effective, and is essential, not only because 8,500 people become infected every day, but also because multiple new strains of HIV are potentially drug-resistant. Vigorous American support of HIV vaccine development would make a statement about the preciousness of life in every corner of the globe. The quilt is an act of goodness. Experiencing the quilt brings us a sense of connection and caring in a society that often separates and alienates. It offers a space and time for common grieving and for shared hope. So we ought to touch the quilt. Well, we can't actually touch it, but we can get real close. And certainly we can be touched by it. We urge you to join us for what many agree is an amazing, even life-changing experience. Molly Fumia is the author of Honor Thy Children, a book that chronicled the life of the Nakatani family. Guy Nakatani visited LGHS several times to talk to students and their families about AIDS. He last visited the school on Jan. 3, 1994; he died of AIDS just a month later at the age of 26. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, November 25, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.