By Melyssa Allen

On November 30 and December 1, Meredith College will display two panels of The AIDS Memorial Quilt in the Rotunda Gallery of Johnson Hall.

Viewing will be free and open to the public. Hours are November 30 from noon until 9 p.m. and December 1 from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt was founded in 1987 in San Francisco. Today, the quilt includes approximately 46,000 individual panels featuring the names of more than 83,440 people.The names on the Quilt represent approximately 17.5% of all U.S. AIDS deaths.

The quilt viewing is part of Meredith's week of events leading up to World AIDS Day, December 1. Other events during World AIDS Awareness Week include a viewing of "Pandemic: Facing AIDS," a lecture by the documentary's filmmaker, Rory Kennedy, and a candlelight vigil. Click here for a full schedule.

The goals for The AIDS Memorial Quilt are to:

• Provide a creative means for remembrance and healing.
• Effectively illustrate the enormity of the AIDS epidemic.
• Increase the general public's awareness of HIV and AIDS.
• Assist others with HIV infection-prevention education.
• Raise funds for community-based AIDS service organizations.

Established in 1987, The NAMES Project Foundation is the custodian of The AIDS Memorial Quilt.

For more information on the AIDS Memorial Quilt, visit www.aidsquilt.org.