AIDS Memorial Sparks Reflection in Sophomores

On April 5, a group of nearly 30 sophmores at Lick-Wilmerding High School crowded into a yellow school bus and made the 20-minute journey to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park AIDS Memorial Grove. This expedition was one of the many volunteer opportunities for the Public Purpose Program (PPP), where, according to the Center for Civic Engagement’s blog, “students can partner with local organizations, participate in Center for Civic Engagement sponsored projects or find their own opportunities.” The AIDS Memorial Grove is a newer addition to LWHS PPP opportunities.

San Francisco’s AIDS Memorial Grove was born in the midst of the AIDS epidemic by a group of six San Franciscans who were dedicated to creating a space for celebrating the living memory of the queer community, while also mourning the thousands of lives lost. Pioneering this project were Alice Russell-Shapiro, Nancy McNally, Stephen Marcus, David Linger, Isabel Wade and Jim Hormel, who were joined by landscape architects Michael Boland and William Peters. In 1996, it was officially declared as the first AIDS memorial in the nation.

The grove serves as a healing space for those affected — both directly and indirectly — by the AIDS crisis, to gather in both remembrance and hope. While the memorial acts as a sanctuary for many, it also prioritizes education and awareness surrounding AIDS in each volunteer session, where half the time is spent working and the other half is spent discussing the lasting effects of the epidemic.

Initially coined GRID (gay-related immune deficiency), AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) became prominent in the early 1980s and quickly became stigmatized as the “gay disease” because it primarily affected sexually active gay men — however, AIDS can be contracted by anyone. Between 1981 and the end of the epidemic in the early 1990s, over 700,000 people had lost their lives to AIDS, and by 1995, one in fifteen gay men had lost their lives to the crisis.

As soon as the sophmores arrived at the memorial, they were greeted by the grove’s Chief Executive Officer, John Cunningham. He prepared the students for the upcoming service learning, with a brief check in about students’ previous knowledge of the AIDS crisis, asking about previous experience with the memorial space. Senior Programs Manager Steve Sagaser and Quilt Conservator & Production Manager Gert McMullin also welcomed the students into the grove, and shortly after, the entire group made their way down to the main field and garden. They were given gloves, rakes and shovels, and spent the next hour shoveling recycled redwood mulch onto pathways that wind throughout the grove.

Students remained joyful and optimistic throughout their work and sparked many conversations about their relationship to the PPP program and service learning. “I think it is really important to note that we are not only living and existing in our communities, but we are taking from them in many ways, so I get a lot of joy from giving back to these communities through our time and care,” Augie Nice ’25 said. “It feels really special to be out here and meet the people who are doing the good work in our communities, and these connections feel very valuable.”

Students raked, shoveled and talked amongst each other and the managers of the memorial grove for the next hour. When their work was complete, Cunningham and Sagaser gathered them to give more background information about the AIDS crisis and memorial, and the ways that their service — especially if continued — would contribute to the memories that San Francisco residents hold of those affected by AIDS.

“Service, when done well, is really beneficial to students. I think PPP can be really valuable given its many paths and avenues that allow students’ involvement to be more pointed. I do think that consistency and ongoing relationships in terms of service learning opportunities are much more meaningful,” LWHS Dean of Faculty, Alegria Barclay, said.

Barclay has had a lasting relationship with the Grove as both a volunteer and visitor and hopes to bring the same positivity that she has gained from that relationship into the LWHS community. “Lick has a lot of intersections with the city — kids are interested in civil rights, queer rights and social justice, so this feels like a really strong entry point in terms of these passions and interests.”

Towards the end of the visit to the grove, McMullin, “the mother of the AIDS quilt,” unfolded two of the 12×12 foot squares that make up the largest community art project in the world — the AIDS memorial quilt. Each of these squares is dedicated to many different communities or individuals that suffered due to the AIDS crisis, and the quilt is now dedicated to over 110,000 people, spanning over 50,000 squares. As McMullin shared her story as an activist and friend to the thriving gay community in San Francisco, she brought tears to the eyes of the many sophmores that crowded around her art.

As students boarded the bus to return to LWHS, many expressed their emotions and their experience. While the bus ride to the grove was filled with school and social-related chatter, the trip home was reflective, students contending with the legacies they had witnessed. Many students noted how this volunteer opportunity felt like their most valuable PPP experience at LWHS. Some students could even be overheard planning for their future visits to the memorial grove, carrying their experiences back to the LWHS community.

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Celia Clark

Celia Clark is a senior and a writer for the Paper Tiger. In her free time, she loves swimming at China Beach, painting, camping, writing, and listening to music. Her favorite artists include TV Girl, Mac Miller, FKA Twigs, SZA, and Kendrick Lamar.

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