Decorated panels dedicated to AIDS victims covered Emory’s quadrangle Monday in the world’s largest collegiate display of the AIDS memorial quilt at the fourth annual Quilt on the Quad, featuring keynote speaker activist and fashion designer Kenneth Cole (’76C).

The event, founded and sponsored by Emory Hillel, was held on World AIDS Day. More than 100 students, faculty, alumni, administrators and Atlantans gathered among the quilts, some remembering friends and family they lost to AIDS, others simply in support of the cause.

“It’s important because this is truly a University-wide project, and what’s amazing about it is that it became an instant Emory tradition,” Emory Hillel Director Michael Rabkin said.

The opening ceremony included a speech by Cole, who serves as chairman for The American Foundation for AIDS Research, the world’s largest HIV/AIDS research organization. He spoke of the importance of the fight against AIDS as well as his personal advocacy efforts through his fashion company.

“I’m using the anniversary of this company, 25 years, to promote activism,” Cole said.

Cole compiled a book, titled Awareness: Inspiring Stories About How to Make a Difference, of 86 stories of those affected by the disease. Copies were available for sale at the event and proceeds benefited the Awareness Fund.

Campus Minister for the Presbyterian Church USA Jill Tolbert gave a personal account about her brother who died from AIDS, and various leaders of the Emory community took turns reading the 800 names memorialized on the quilt panels.
In his speech, Cole emphasized the importance of global support for the AIDS cause.

“If AIDS exists anywhere, it exists everywhere,” Cole said.

Cole spoke of how advertising for safe sex and condoms was illegal in the ’80s, and said that those who advertised such products were assumed to be Haitian, a carrier of AIDS/HIV, a drug user or gay.

“Being a male fashion designer, everyone obviously assumed I was Haitian,” Cole joked.

Since he was none of these stereotypes, though, Cole said he felt more comfortable addressing the subject. He spoke about ads his company ran with subliminal messages about having safe sex and wearing condoms before it was legal to do so.

“Shoes are not the only thing we encourage you to wear,” Cole said.

The world has come a long way since former President Ronald Reagan finally addressed the issue of AIDS in 1987, after 40,000 people had already died from the disease, but there is still much more that needs to be done, Cole said.
“Stigma still prevails,” Cole added. “You know how much change can still be made but because of stigma, how much isn’t.”

Despite these types of setbacks, Cole is still positive about finding a cure for this disease with the application of scientific and creative research.
“I do believe that a cure is in our reach,” Cole said.

Students walking by during the event were handed red ribbon pins, a symbol of awareness, by Quilt on the Quad volunteers. In addition, various groups set up tables around the Quad during the event to offer support. Some of these groups included Support for International Change, the Jerusalem House, Emory Student Health and Services, Emory Pride, Hillel and Volunteer Emory.

“We had a lot of different organizations represented there,” Business school senior and member of the Quilt on the Quad committee Matt Kerrigan said.

In an effort to spread awareness beyond the quad, additional panels are currently on display at various locations around campus, including Few and Evans residence halls, Cannon Chapel and the Goizueta Business School, among others. Some celebrities represented on these quilts include the lead singer of the band Queen and Robert Reed, an actor from the Brady Bunch.

“It’s really an opportunity to spread the message of the project beyond the one day of World AIDS Day and beyond the quad so that more people are exposed to it throughout the week,” Rabkin said.

Organizers, who were disappointed that the event ended earlier than planned due to sudden flurries, said the event was successful nonetheless, as many students and members of the Atlanta community were in attendance.

“Any time we can get people in the fight for any cause is great,” Kerrigan said.
College senior and co-chair for the event Daniel Sperling agreed, noting that the goal of the event was to raise awareness.

“We definitely met our goals, and we felt like we raised awareness for the HIV/AIDS epidemic,” Sperling said.

— Contact Christina White.