AIDS Memorial Quilt Conference
For my second service event of the semester, I attended the AIDS Memorial Quilt Conference, and served as one of the quilt monitors. The event was on April 12th and went from 12-8pm. This event relates to international affairs because the whole point of the event was to highlight how large of a problem HIV/AIDS is internationally, even today.
The Students for Diversity in Education hosted the event, with a multitude of speakers who came in to talk about how HIV/AIDS is affecting our communities. To those who hosted the event, a huge part of the importance came from a whole generation of those who lost their lives to HIV/AIDS during the 1980s epidemic. Although we lost them, their dreams and voices continue to inspire those today. To promote a safer environment, SDES also provided both free STI testing, as well as free condoms.
This event helped me gain personal insight to the HIV/AIDS situation. For my actual volunteering, I was monitoring one of the AIDS memorial quilts. These quilts were built to commemorate those who have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS. The quilts were huge, full of color, and emotional. Many of those who lost their lives were fairly young, and one of the saddest parts was seeing that many of them died so close to when treatment started to become available. Certain quilts represented different regions, and the one I was monitoring featured those who were from Columbus. One thing that SDES is trying to accomplish is making everyone aware of the specifics of HIV/AIDS. Many people are unaware or are still misinformed of how HIV is transmitted, or still carry many misconceptions surrounding the stigmas of HIV/AIDS. Something else that I was unaware of is the day of silence. The day of silence, which is a national event, is a student led event where middle and high school students take a vow of silence in the name of those who are bullied and discriminated against in the LGBTQ+ community. SDES has a break the silence event where those who attended could talk about why they “break the silence” in their own lives. This was the first time in over 20 years that OSU was able to host the event, making it an important event for many on campus.
Over the course of my educational career, I have encountered the topic of HIV/AIDS multiple other times. It tended to pop up in history classes, as there was a large HIV outbreak in the 1980s. I have also taken a couple classes here at OSU that have covered HIV and how it can develop in late adolescents. One question I have for those who spoke out at the event is, how can we keep others informed on HIV/AIDS and make an impact in our own lives? In summation, the AIDS Memorial Quilt Conference was a very difference experience I had not previously had. I was able to learn something about HIV/AIDS and also had an enjoyable time while doing so.