THE AIDS QUILT COMES TO HAVERFORD!

We've had a lot of great events so far this year, but it's fitting that the AIDS Quilt Display is the final one of the semester, especially this year when we'll have 100 panels instead of 10. I'm excited about it for two reasons. First of all, the organizational process has really brought out the best in the Haverford community. A lot of students have been working hard to organize, advertise, and fundraise for months, and many more will be volunteering over the weekend. Furthermore, the Quilt Display was made possible in large part by generous monetary donations from Students' Council, President Emerson, and other campus organizations, not to mention the administration's donation of the Fieldhouse for an entire weekend, since Founders is not big enough to house 100 panels. Haverford has come together to support this important cause, and I think that says a lot about this school and its values.

The AIDS Quilt Display is not about Haverfordians showing off their values abstractly, however. The second reason I'm so excited for the display is because of its concrete importance. For many people, the display will get them thinking about a global issue that perhaps they did not believe had any real bearing on them or their life. For those who have lost friends, family or loved ones to AIDS, it will facilitate rememberance and commemoration, perhaps even more so who will be able to see the panel of their loved one. Finally, not only will many, many people see this display since it is a major regional event, but everyone who sees it will be joined in solidarity with those around the country and the world who have experienced tragedy caused by AIDS.

As the semester comes to a close, I hope to use this space to post reflections about the Quilt from various community members, so continue to check back. In the meantime, the opening ceremony is tomorrow, November 30th, ath 7 p.m., and President Emerson will speak. The display will continue all day Saturday and Sunday morning. Please take time to stop by at some point, we would like as many people as possible to see the quilt. I want to end with some statistics that demonstrate why we should care about AIDS:

Worldwide:

Number of people living with HIV in 2006:
Total: 39.5 million (34.1–47.1 million)
Adults: 37.2 million (32.1–44.5 million)
Women: 17.7 million (15.1–20.9 million)
Children under 15 years: 2.3 million ( 1.7–3.5 million)

People newly infected with HIV in 2006:
Total: 4.3 million (3.6–6.6 million)
Adults: 3.8 million ( 3.2–5.7 million)
Children under 15 years: 530,000 (410,000–660,000)

AIDS deaths in 2006:
Total: 2.9 million (2.5–3.5 million)
Adults: 2.6 million (2.2–3.0 million)
Children under 15 years: 380,000 (290,000–500,000)

United States:

421,861 people were living with AIDS in 2005
16,323 people died from AIDS in 2005
526,347 people in total had died of AIDS by 2005

8th Dimension's Hunger Week

The week before Thanksgiving was 8th Dimension's annual Hunger Week, featuring two popular events: the Hunger Auction, and the OXFAM Dinner. The Hunger Auction takes place on the GO Boards, and students bid on food (and some non-food) items that have been donated by other students, faculty, staff, or local businesses. This year the event raised $1226, even more than last year, and featured some intense, last-minute bidding. We anticipate that the winning bidders will get enjoyment not only out of the items they won, but the money they contributed.

Our OXFAM Dinner was equally successful. 325 students signed up to skip dinner at the Dining Center on Friday, and then John Francone, the manager of the DC, generously donated all of the money that would have been spent on their meals to OXFAM. This added up to $1137.50, also bettering last year's amount. So thanks to everyone who participated in either event, and we look forward to more successful Hunger Weeks in the years to come!

Student Run Project: Books Through Bars

Our Special Olympics project wasn't the only service happening at Haverford this past weekend. One of our Student Run Projects, Books Through Bars, was also active, spending their Saturday working with a Philadelphia organization of the same name to fill book orders from prisons across the country. Isabel Clark, one of the project's chairs, sent us some information and some pictures:

With a van full of volunteers and books, donated by the Haverford College Bookstore, we headed into center city Philadelphia to The A-Space, a community space where Books through Bars is located. Books through Bars is a non-profit organization that promotes literacy and education within prisons, as well as awareness of the current status of the educational systems in prison to those outside its walls. Letters with requests for books come from all fifty states with a variety of interests--anything from GRE prep books to mystery novels. Receiving nearly 2,000 letters a month, Books through Bars always need volunteers to help read letters and fill requests, which is what we did while we were there. Books through Bars operates every Tuesday night out of The A-Space, as well as the first and third Saturday of every month. We hope to take another trip in the spring after the success of this year's fall trip.