Thursday, November 29, 2001

Time to Care
AIDS Quilt lets students reflect

On Saturday, students can think about something bigger than TCU, bigger than themselves. During World AIDS Day, students can reflect on a disease that affects innumerable lives.

The goal of day is to bring “compassion, hope, solidarity and understanding about AIDS to every country in the world.”

And students don’t even have to leave campus to participate.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt will be displayed in the Student Center Ballroom Saturday and Sunday.

Each panel of the quilt memorializes the life of a person who died of AIDS. Since 1987, the quilt has grown to include more than 44,000 panels — more than 44,000 lives. Two hundred panels will be displayed on campus.

This weekend, students can learn and reflect on this devastating disease while people all over the world are doing the same. They can figuratively step outside the safe, secure boundaries of the university and connect with the world. This is an opportunity to feel united with humanity, not just with Horned Frogs.

Randy Linville, co-chair of the Forth Worth/Tarrant County NAMES Project, said he hopes the quilt will help people realize AIDS can affect everyone.

“There is an apathy about the AIDS epidemic and statistics are showing a rise in HIV and AIDS of young people in the age group of college students,” Linville said.

Education about the disease is vital for students because a false sense of security can lead students to place themselves at risk. Along with the display of the quilt, students will have the opportunity to educate and learn to protect themselves from the disease.

Now is the time of year when students are distracted by approaching final exams and Christmas break. Trivial concerns are on the minds of many. This weekend, forget about trivial worries and reflect on the countless number of lives that have been lost to AIDS, and other countless lives that have been changed forever because of the disease. Observe the AIDS Memorial Quilt and experience the pain and love that accompanies each panel.

The theme this year of World AIDS Day is “I care...Do you?” Students have the opportunity to answer that question this weekend.