Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Sasha Ghavi (left), Crystal Keith (center) and Katie Wookas hug after the closing ceremonies.

Lamp of Hope

AIDS awareness week tries to extinguish the shadow of ignorance and fear

By Michelle Alaimo

The AIDS epidemic hit hard at Saratoga High School during an emotion-charged week that included the display of several panels of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and a visit by the parents of Guy Nakatani, a friend of the Saratoga community who, before he died of AIDS, helped educate SHS students about the disease. During the week, students and parents worked on a panel for Guy which was presented to his parents during an emotional closing ceremony last Friday.

The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt contains nearly 43,000 panels, each 3 feet by 6 feet--coffin size--and represents 21 percent of all United States AIDS deaths.

"May this quilt extinguish the shadow of ignorance and fear that paralyzes so many. The quilt lights a lamp of hope. May it shine until the deaths are no more," read Saratoga High School student Colleen Assilian, one student who spoke at the school's opening ceremony kicking off AIDS awareness week.

Hundreds of people flocked to SHS last week to view four 12-by-12-foot sections of the quilt that were on display every night from 7 to 9 p.m. A blank section was also stretched out across the stage in front of the quilt for community members to write their thoughts. All SHS and Redwood Middle School students came to see the quilt with their classes.

"I am glad we all got the opportunity to hear about all who have suffered so that we are more aware of AIDS. I bless the families and friends of those who have died. May God and all the angels be with you always," wrote student Renee Nelson.

A highlight of the week for students and community members was being able to work on a panel for Guy Nakatani, who died of the disease in February 1994. His parents, Al and Jane Nakatani, who have lost all three of their sons--two to AIDS and one to violence--flew in from Hawaii for the week's activities.

Al said he was grateful to SHS for holding the awareness week in honor of Guy. He added it has always been in the back of his mind to create a panel for Guy someday, and he finds it fitting that SHS students were the ones to do it. Glen, Guy's older brother, has a panel that was among those on display at the school.

A closing ceremony was held last Friday before a standing-room-only crowd of students, parents and teachers in the school's little theater and cafeteria. Each student speaker, including several from the group Students Taking A New Direction, expressed in their own words how the AIDS quilt had affected them.

"I never understood how much I would be affected by seeing the quilt. Now as the room is silent, I realize that we all are in this together, and we all need to love and respect those who are affected with this terrible disease," student Jennifer Nisely said.

At the end of the ceremony, which brought many to tears, Guy's panel was presented to his parents. Al said they will keep the panel for a while and take it with them when he gives talks on AIDS and AIDS awareness.

"It's the only way I can say to all of you how we feel about you," Al said in a choked-up voice. "Saratoga will be with us for the rest of our journey."

Senior Monte Kawahara, who played a guitar solo dedicated to Guy during the closing ceremony, designed the quilt panel in honor of Guy, keeping in mind things Guy loved such as music, Hawaii, the ocean, cars, clothes and style. Al and Jane requested that all three boys be represented on the quilt to show how close Guy was to his two brothers, Greg and Glen. The quilt also features the logo for the Guy T. Nakatani Life Management Program, which Guy founded in Saratoga with his father in late 1992. Al now travels the country, speaking on behalf of the program to those who request AIDS education.

The week began just as emotionally as it ended, with students presenting a moving opening ceremony for classmates, teachers and the Nakatanis. Mike Smith, co-founder of the NAMES Project, explained to the students how the project started and what the quilt represents.

"The quilt is really about storytelling," Smith said. "Each panel tells the story of how a panel-maker remembers a person." He added, "The quilt is a collection of tiny individual stories."

Students read passages written by parents, family members and friends of those who died of AIDS. The readings made the students quiet and reflective and brought some teachers to tears.

Al Nakatani said he found the ceremony "emotionally overwhelming," adding, "Who would have expected that four years after his death, [Guy] would still be remembered?"

Teresa Chan, a senior who worked as one of 50 student guides, helping to lead class discussions during the week, said the week's activities were successful.

"A lot more people are thinking about AIDS," she said, adding that she thought everything was well planned and that there were a lot of opportunities for the community to learn a little more about AIDS.

One such activity was a speech given by Al Nakatani last Wednesday night to a packed room of more than 100 people. Al spoke of the precursors to high-risk behavior in young people and talked a little about the last years of Guy's life.

Guy's father also surprised the audience by bringing up the issue of racial tension between Asians and whites and shared with them his observation that during his week at SHS, Asian students stayed on one side of the quad while white students stayed on the other side.

"Whether you want to admit it or not, there's a problem here," Al said. He added it's a problem that needs to be looked at. For him, the issue of racial tension has personal significance. He related how his son, Greg was shot and killed in an incident with racial overtones.

Several of the week's activities, including last week's closing ceremony, were filmed for Lifting the Cloak of Shame, a Time-Warner documentary. Earlier this year, Los Gatos resident Molly Fumia released Honor Thy Children, a book about the Nakatani family that should now be available in bookstores.

Lynna Taylor, coordinator of STAND, said, "The week has been a week of growth."

[ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ]