Campus Marks World AIDS Day with Candlelight
Vigil, Viewing of Memorial Quilt, Artistic Works

Christine Clark | December 7, 2009

Members of the UC San Diego community recognized World AIDS Day on Tuesday. A photo exhibit and portions of the AIDS Memorial Quilt were on displayi n the Price Center East Ballroom.

They danced and sang. They created films, sculptures and photography exhibits, all to show the impact of HIV/AIDS and how it has affected so many people and taken so many lives.

Members of the UC San Diego community recognized World AIDS Day on Tuesday, and this year's events were more extensive and creative than ever before, according to Shaun Travers, director of the UCSD LGBT Resource Center.

A highlight of the day at UCSD was a public viewing of three pieces of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. The Quilt is the largest ongoing community arts project in the world and is comprised of more than 40,000 panels spread over the world that memorialize individual AIDS victims.

The Quilt display took place concurrently with Sound and Silence: A Listener’s Reflection on the Quilt, a musical series that included performances from visual arts professor Michael Trigilio, the San Diego Women’s Chorus, the men’s undergraduate A Capella group Frequency, and Rich Belmontez. 

Revelle College senior Minnie Low was one of the many students who stopped by the Price Center East Ballroom to view sections of the Quilt, which were created by San Diego organizations and individuals. “It is so moving to see it because the Quilt has impacted so many people in so many different ways,” Low said.  “I love that people come together once a year to learn about this disease and how it affects millions of people.”

Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Penny Rue participated in a candlelight vigil that was held in the morning for reflection and remembrance.

The day began with a candlelight vigil where members of the community, students, and staff, including Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Penny Rue gathered for reflection and remembrance.

Also a part of the Price Center East display was Jae Hansen’s photography exhibit, Survivors, a moving photo series that showcased long-term survivors of HIV/AIDS.

At noon, students witnessed one of day’s most impactful performances on Library Walk, where 25 people participated in a “Die-In” to visually show the death that is still occurring because of HIV/AIDS.

“It was very jarring,” Revelle College senior Ryan Willis said. “The ‘Die-In’ really forced people to stop and look. It really slowed UCSD down.”

Willis is a student filmmaker who produced a documentary about the day’s events.
“I just wanted to help,” he said. “I have been making films at UCSD and this is my way of giving back to the campus that I have been attending for four years now. I think the various artistic performances really made people notice World AIDS Day this year.”

Later in the afternoon, several students gathered at the Price Center water fountain to watch a dance from Eric Geiger, a professor in the department of theatre and dance. Geiger performed his own work titled “He’s a Very Big Man” in the fountain to honor one of his close friends, Samuel Ribero de Castro, who recently passed away from an AIDS-related illness.

Exhibits included , Survivors, a moving photography exhibit that showcases long-term survivors of HIV and AIDS – those who have surpassed a 10 year mark since their original diagnosis and are considered survivors of the epidemic disease.

Theodore Banzon, a junior at Eleanor Roosevelt College, found the performance moving. “I am a dance minor so I wanted to see this,” he said. “I think it is really thought provoking how he is used the water as part of his performance.”

In the same area as the dance performance, a dozen students from visual arts professor Anya Gallaccio’s sculpture class presented works that considered their own reflections on HIV/AIDS impact on our society.  The sculptures ranged from a piece knitted to represent the virus itself, to a globe that seemed to be bleeding from the impact of the disease on the entire population of the planet.

On Library Walk, students such as Eleanor Roosevelt College senior Amy Eastman sold pins that raised funds to help build AIDS clinics in Rwanda. Eastman is vice president of the Face AIDS student organization which is dedicated to helping families in Rwanda fight the AIDS epidemic.

“It has been exciting and moving to see all the events go so well,” Eastman said. “It is important to help students be aware of how HIV/AIDS is impacting millions of people in Africa and around the world.”

In addition, students such as sophomore Erin Enriquez distributed red ribbons, condom "roses," prevention information and other educational materials. “It has been nice to know that I can make an impact locally to fight AIDS and the spread of HIV,” she said.

Anyone interested in planning for the 2010 honoring of World AIDS Day can contact Shaun Travers, stravers@ucsd.edu, who chairs the campus-wide committee that organizes the annual event.