Four panels of the NAMES Project Memorial AIDS Quilt will be on display in the Memorial Union Dec. 1-6 as a part of activities being planned for the first-ever AIDS Awareness Week at Iowa State.

World AIDS Day is Dec. 1. Denise Swanson, co-chair for AIDS Awareness Week, said the Student Union Board and Memorial Union decided to plan a week of activities when they discovered they had the opportunity to display the quilt.

Leslie Melvin, co-chair for the week, said AIDS is now the leading cause of death for all men and the third leading cause of death for women aged 25 to 44.

She added most people probably contract the disease when they are college age.

Melvin, who is also program adviser for the Memorial Union, said they hope the quilt can help raise awareness about AIDS. He said officials are working on programs so the quilt is “not just a static display.”

Some of the activities planned for the week include speakers, films, a candlelight vigil and a benefit for the Story County AIDS Coalition.

Swanson said two of the quilt panels will be hung in the Gold Star Hall, which leads from the main entrance of the Memorial Union to the Great Hall, where the other two panels will be displayed.

She said each panel has eight quilt pieces on it, and each piece was made by the family or friends of someone who died from AIDS.

The quilt originated from the NAMES Project Foundation of San Francisco.

According to a pamphlet from the foundation, the entire quilt has 45,000 panels and represents 70,000 people.

The quilt was displayed in its entirety for the last time in Washington, D.C., Oct. 11-13 and covered an area equivalent to 30 football fields.

Swanson said they requested the proposal to get the quilt this summer and they are now working to get sponsors.

Melvin said $1,200 is needed to cover the cost of the quilt, support materials to hang the quilt, shipping and a donation to the NAMES foundation.

So far they have raised half of the money needed to bring the panels to ISU.