AIDS has worked its way into every corner of modern society. And although the disease has caused much grief, it has not kept the spirit of those affected by it down.

“It happens in Story County — it’s happened in every county in Iowa,” said Denise Swanson, fine arts director for the Student Union Board.

“It” is AIDS, and a small portion of the worldwide sorrow the disease has inflicted is reflected in the AIDS Quilt, on display in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day this week.

The quilt project was started in 1987 by Cleve Jones, a gay rights activist who was inspired by a candlelight walk in which marchers taped the names of AIDS victims to the wall of a downtown building in San Francisco.

Jones initiated the quilt by memorializing his best friend, Marvin Feldman, on one panel of cloth. As word of this original work spread, three-by-six foot panels flooded in from all over the United States.

The AIDS quilt made its first public appearance Oct. 11, 1987, on the Capitol Mall in Washington, D.C. At that time it was made up of 2,000 panels which were spread from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol.

Since then the quilt, which is administered by the NAMES Project in San Francisco, has been displayed more than 1,000 times. It has appeared in its entirety at the nation’s capital four other times, most recently this fall, and has been exhibited in 34 foreign countries.

There are more than 70,000 panels currently comprising the quilt, which are combined into blocks of eight panels each. It covers an area of more than twelve football fields when displayed in full and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest community arts project. The quilt is still growing — 50 new panels are received by the NAMES Project each week.

The image of the quilt symbolizes warmth and comfort and provides an outlet for those who have seen friends, brothers, sisters and cousins consumed by this malignant epidemic.

Anyone can contribute a panel to the quilt, and prospective artists are encouraged to use the traditions of old-fashioned sewing and quilting bees by including the contributions of friends, family and co-workers.

The section of the quilt visiting Ames consists of four blocks, which are decorated with the names of victims and mementos from their lives, such as pictures and newspaper clippings. There is also a banner in the Great Hall which has space for visitors to sign their names and share their feelings about the quilt.

“We were excited that we could get four blocks, and the event just grew from there,” said Swanson.

Other events being held this week include a silent auction sponsored by SUB. Which will be held on Friday. Items on sale include a P. Buckley Moss print, a signed book authored by Carl Kurtz, and a framed original painting by Monica Pate.