By Jack Berning
Various University of Iowa student organizations and events highlighted the Nov. 29 to Dec. 7 IC Red Week, including the Reading of Names on Thursday to honor those who have passed away from HIV/AIDS and to further spread awareness for Iowa City residents.
According to 2014 data from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, an estimated 9,731 youth ages 13 to 24 were diagnosed with HIV. From that number, 81 percent or the 7,868 youth diagnoses occurred in persons aged 20 to 24.
The event consisted of almost 100 volunteer readers alternating every five minutes, each reading a list of names from a podium to honor those who had lost their life to HIV/AIDS. It ran from dawn to dusk on the east side of the Old Capitol, with dignitaries reading from noon to 1p.m.
Speakers such as UI President Bruce Harreld, Dean of the College of Public Health Sue Curry, and UI Student Government President Rachel Zuckerman read names.
“The event puts a name to the HIV epidemic,” Zuckerman said. “By reading the names, an identity and story is created, showing what AIDS can inflict. The issue tends to be tuned out in society, and we want to change that.”
The first Reading of Names took place in 2014 and was made possible by the support of the Digital Studio for Public Arts and Humanities, which brought in a portion of the AIDS Memorial Quilt.
“We have two blocks out of nearly 6,000,” said art Professor Jon Winet, the Faculty Director of the event. “The names we read are provided by these quilt blocks, which have names of those who passed nationwide. It represents that these people have not been forgotten.”
In addition to honoring those who have died, the event aimed to get more people on campus talking about HIV/AIDS and sexual health, topics generally inundated with stigma.
“Many of the individuals who passed were shamed and shunned from society for having HIV. We are honoring them now,” said Apoorva Raikwar, one of the event organizers. “The idea is to honor as many individuals who have passed from AIDS as we can by reading their names aloud. Putting a face to the staggering statistics we often hear about this disease makes the issue more personal.”
“We hope that people will take the issue seriously,” she said. “We hope that honoring those who died will not only bring light to the issue but also prompt the students on our campus to get tested.”