Melissa Conlon

This write-up was written in 2022 for Colby-Sawyer College. You can view the original post here.

“I would give anything to spend just one more day with him, reading him the newspaper and making him a chicken salad sandwich for lunch.”

An excerpt from a daughter’s heartfelt letter is handstitched on a quilt made in memory of her father, Robert Lovinger. Robert is among the 700,000+ lives lost in the United States from the AIDS epidemic.

In time for STI Awareness Month, 12 panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt are on display in Wheeler Hall until tomorrow, April 7, 2022. Since 1985, the AIDS Memorial Quilt has grown to become the world’s largest memorial honoring the lives that have been cut short by AIDS-related causes.

Before an effective treatment became readily available in 1996, an HIV/AIDS diagnosis was considered a death sentence. The negative stigma surrounding AIDS weighed so heavily on surviving family members that it would oftentimes prevent them from holding a funeral service for their deceased loved one. If that wasn’t an issue, the all-to-common refusal from funeral homes or cemeteries to handle their loved ones’ remains was often another obstacle. Visiting the Quilt would become the only opportunity for survivors to honor and celebrate their loved ones.

Amongst the display is a panel of quilts in memory of New Hampshire citizens who’ve lost their lives to AIDS. On display is also a quilt for Gaëtan Dugas. Gaëtan was infamously known as “Patient Zero” by the media and was falsely accused of being the first individual to bring AIDS to the United States. It wasn’t until 2016 that his name was cleared of the accusation, nearly 30 years later.

We are deeply honored to have the AIDS Memorial Quilt on display at Colby-Sawyer once again. A special thank you to the NAMES Project, Student Activities and Cross-Cultural Committee for hosting this event.