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University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, April 17, 1990
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A chalk-drawn silhouette covers the parking space of Judith Ramaley, executive vice chancellor. A member of ACT UP KU/Lawrence, a local AIDS awareness group, said the group made the drawing yesterday to recognize student AIDS victims and to advertise last night's GALA week speech.
Peter Staley
Speaker says AIDS fight lacks firm commitment
By Carol B. Shiney
Kansan staff writer
"This country will do almost anything rather than pay attention to AIDS," he said. "It will not educate or support adequate funding for research and treatment. It will not do anything about lessening the cost of what meager treatments there are."
Staley spoke about AIDS awareness and activism to about 80 people in Woodruff Auditorium. His speech was part of Gay and Lesbian Awareness Week, sponsored by Gay and Lesbian Services of Kansas.
The world has lost the war against AIDS, a member of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power told a group of KU students and area residents last night.
"I used to think that ACT UP could save the world," said Peter Staley, member of ACT UP New York. "I thought that if there was an ACT UP in every city and on every college campus, then the system would have no choice but to respond."
But Staley said forces of bigotry were powerful enough at the start to prevent warning and education measures against the AIDS epidemic. He said that because AIDS still was thought of as a gay disease, every impediment imaginable was being placed in the way of receiving a cure for AIDS.
After Staley graduated from college in 1983, he worked as a bond trader on Wall Street for about five years. When he left Wall Street, he joined ACT UP New York.
"It wasn't until I left Wall Street — infected by HIV that I decided I needed to fight the disease more aggressively," he said.
People are afraid to fight back, Staley said.
"Most people don't like to make waves," he said. "Most people don't realize they have power."
Staley said collective voices equaled power.
Scott Manning, member of ACT UP KU/Lawrence, said he agreed when Staley told the group that the front line of new AIDS cases was people in small towns.
"A transmissible virus is going around," he said. "There is nothing to stop it. I hope that what I have said has somehow reached a part of you and that you will join our fight."
"People just don't want to admit it," Manning said. "They don't want to face up to that here. You just don't have to be very smart to realize that if there are five to 10 people with AIDS in Lawrence this year, then there will be twice as many people next year."
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KU STUDENT PUNT, PASS & KICK COMPETITION Preliminaries : 11:00 Finals : Halftime VS. Nick Lowery Kelly Goodburn and Mike Elkins of the Kansas City Chiefs. *They will also be signing autographs from 12:30-1:30 at the Stadium.
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