AIDS Quilt Displayed at UC San Diego in Recognition of World AIDS Day

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The UC San Diego display in Price Center East will showcase sections of the Quilt that have come from San Diego organizations and individuals from the early years of the epidemic through the present day.

World AIDS Day will be recognized by the University of California, San Diego with a variety of programs from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 1, including a public viewing of portions of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. The Quilt is the largest ongoing community arts project in the world and since 1987 it’s continued to reach communities with its messages of remembrance, awareness and hope.

“The AIDS Memorial Quilt is a powerful tool to help bring awareness to the HIV/AIDS pandemic,” said Maria Ramirez, assistant director of health education at UC San Diego. “Over the years, the UC San Diego exhibit has touched many people. I know a student whose  grandfather passed away due to HIV-related pneumonia and she said that  that viewing the Quilt and participating in the World AIDS Day events made her feel like she was honoring his memory.”

The World AIDS Day theme at UC San Diego for this year is “Getting to Zero.”  All events are free and open to the public. 

The UC San Diego display in Price Center East will showcase sections of the Quilt that have come from San Diego organizations and individuals from the early years of the epidemic through the present day. 

In conjunction with the AIDS Quilt display, UC San Diego will sponsor a number of other events in recognition of World AIDS Day.  A morning candlelight vigil will be held at 7 a.m. at the Price Center East Ballroom for private reflection and remembrance. 

Sound and Silence: A Listener’s Reflection on the Quilt will concurrently take place in the Price Center East Ballroom.  The series includes numerous musical performances by UC San Diego affiliates, followed by periods of silence for reflections on the quilt.  A meditation room will be available directly adjacent to the Quilt display.  The San Diego’s Women’s Chorus will close the ceremonies at 5 p.m.

On display with the Quilt will be Jae Hansen’s photography exhibit, Survivors, a moving photo series that showcases long-term survivors of HIV and AIDS.

Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Penny Rue participated in a candlelight vigil during the 2009 World AIDS Day.

At 9:30 a.m. in the Cross-Cultural Center’s Comunidad Room, Joshua Romero will discuss San Diego’s Lead the Way program, a first-of-its-kind study with UC San Diego School of Medicine about the attitudes and barriers to HIV testing.  At 11 a.m., Ted Gideonse will present on medicine, culture and AIDS.  At 12:30 p.m., Taylor Gilliland will present “We Have A Drug Problem: Universities, Big Pharma, and Access to AIDS Medicines in the Developing World.”  Gilliland is a UC San Diego PhD candidate in biomedical sciences. Wrapping up the presentations will be Kimberly Brouwer, MD, and Jose Burgos, MD, with a presentation entitled “Permeable Borders: HIV/AIDS transnationally.”

At 12:10 p.m., Scott Paulson, UC San Diego’s carillonneur, will play original music especially written for the day.  Concurrently, members of the university community will participate in a “die-in.”   As the carillon plays, participants in the die-in will drop to the ground, “dead” for the length of the performance.  This performance vividly showcases the death of HIV infected individuals throughout the world who don’t have access to medication.

Red ribbons and condom “roses” will be distributed at UC San Diego’s Library Walk throughout the day in addition to prevention information and other educational materials from various organizations.

An area directly adjacent to Library Walk will present the milestones related to HIV/AIDS, reflecting on the pandemic’s impact, for participants to walk through.  In addition, a large red ribbon will fill the green above Price Center Plaza.

Throughout the day at the Cross-Cultural Center Art Space, members of the UC San Diego community will have original art works and pieces inspired by reflection of World AIDS Day.  Concurrently, the video wall of The Loft at UC San Diego will showcase a curated series of short films that document the artistic and visual impact of HIV/AIDS throughout the world.

For more information on World AIDS Day at UC San Diego, please go to http://worldAIDSday.ucsd.edu.

For more information about the Quilt, visit http://aidsquilt.org

For a map and directions to the Price Center East Ballroom, visit http://maps.ucsd.edu.