Remembering AIDS Activism at Haverford

The history of AIDS activism at Haverford College is one of gradual emergence rather than immediate mobilization. In the early years of the epidemic, silence and stigma shaped both national policy and campus culture. In the 1990s as the crisis deepened and awareness grew, Haverford students began to respond—through education, public health initiatives, and community partnerships. This article traces how the AIDS Service Network (ASN) and queer student groups navigated a shifting landscape of fear, activism, and care from the 1980s through the 2010s.

In the 1980s, the national response to the AIDS crisis was marked by profound neglect and deeply rooted cultural stigma. The disease was widely misunderstood and framed primarily as a "gay plague," leading many Americans to believe that it only affected homosexual men. Rather than address the epidemic with urgency and compassion, the U.S. government failed to allocate adequate resources to prevention and treatment, and in some cases, enacted policies that further marginalized gay communities—such as banning openly gay men from donating blood, or refusing to fund AIDS education that acknowledged same-sex relationships. 

At Haverford, this broader national atmosphere was mirrored on a smaller scale. Alumni who attended the College in the late 1970s and early 1980s recalled in oral history interviews how few openly gay students there were on campus—sometimes fewer than five at any given time—and how fear of coming out was pervasive. Many students lived in silence, afraid of judgment from peers or ostracization from the campus community. 

Given these circumstances, it is perhaps unsurprising that Haverford saw little to no visible organizing around AIDS in its early years. The disease, though certainly a source of fear and private grief for some, left almost no public footprint on campus until the early 1990s.

The mid-1980s saw a turning point in the AIDS crisis, as effective treatments like AZT were introduced and grassroots organizations—largely formed by gay communities—mobilized widespread education campaigns that helped reduce new infections. Still, the early 1990s brought a resurgence of the epidemic, with the number of AIDS-related deaths in the U.S. reaching its highest levels. National awareness grew as a result, partly due to prominent public figures who challenged prevailing misconceptions. 

One pivotal moment came in 1991 when NBA star Magic Johnson revealed that he was HIV positive. His announcement had a global impact and resonated deeply at Haverford. In a BiCo News article from that year, a Haverford student admitted that he had previously equated AIDS exclusively with homosexuality, but Magic’s story forced him to recognize the disease as indiscriminate regardless of one’s sexuality and deserving of compassion. 

Around this same time, the AIDS Service Network (ASN) was founded at Haverford as part of the College’s 8th Dimension community service organization. ASN took a pragmatic, educational approach, focusing on awareness rather than overt politics to engage the broader student body. Their messaging often emphasized how AIDS had claimed countless lives, and warned that even students at a privileged, liberal arts college like Haverford were not immune—especially if they engaged in unprotected sex.

Throughout the 1990s, the ASN became a central force in Haverford’s response to the AIDS epidemic. Led by students and supported by 8th Dimension staff like Marilou Allen, ASN organized regular events that combined education, commemoration, and service.  

Source: Bi-College News

One of the most visible and emotionally powerful initiatives was the display of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. Originating in San Francisco, the AIDS Quilt served as a massive, patchwork memorial to individuals lost to AIDS, each panel created by loved ones in their memory. ASN brought sections of the Quilt to campus in 1991, 1993, and 1997, transforming public spaces on campus into sites of remembrance. 

Each display was accompanied by a series of events to raise awareness and foster dialogue. Activities included day-long reading of names of HIV/AIDS victims, guest speakers and receptions, distribution of red ribbons, presentations of HIV/AIDS statistics, and informational tables from local AIDS service organizations. 

These efforts resonated far beyond the Bi-College community. In 1992, in recognition of the display’s impact, The Philadelphia Gay News awarded the Bi-College display of the Quilt the Lambda Award for Best Cultural Event in the region. 

Besides the AIDS Quilt, ASN host a wide range of other initiatives, including fundraising, peer education, and community service. Students volunteered with local AIDS organizations and participated in the annual Philly AIDS Walk. Beginning in 1995, the group also launched free, anonymous HIV testing services at Bryn Mawr—a major step in public health outreach that served over 40 students in its first term. These efforts illustrate how ASN positioned itself at the intersection of empathy and pragmatism: memorializing the human cost of AIDS while urging students to take responsibility for their own sexual health.

Still, while ASN’s approach was effective in reaching a broad campus audience, it often aligned with the dominant public health messaging of the time—emphasizing personal responsibility and risk reduction over structural critique. Posters and campaigns frequently relied on fear-based visuals, like webs of sexual contact meant to illustrate the exponential danger of unprotected sex. Though well-intentioned, this kind of messaging could feel moralizing, and may have inadvertently reinforced the stigmas queer students already faced. 

A flyer distributed by the AIDS Service Network about the risks of non-monogamy

ASN’s efforts to make AIDS visible on campus did not necessarily translate into open, affirming conversations about queerness. Political discourse around how the epidemic disproportionately affected marginalized communities was not always foregrounded. This reflected, in part, the silence that persisted within Haverford’s queer community itself. 

In the early years of the AIDS epidemic, Haverford’s queer student population was extremely small and largely underground. The Gay People's Alliance (GPA), the BiCo’s early LGBTQ student group, was initially outspoken, but fizzled out in the mid-1980s—due in part to this climate of fear, and to the emotional and social toll of the AIDS crisis. In 1988, the group was revived as a Haverford affinity group under a new name, BGALA (Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Alliance). Still, while BGALA in the late 1980s and 1990s was increasingly politically engaged—advocating for queer visibility, curriculum reform, and campus safety—there is little evidence that the group took a leading role in AIDS-related activism. Its primary focus appears to have been improving the campus climate for queer students, rather than participating directly in the public health or service initiatives that characterized ASN’s work.

As the 1990s came to a close, the national conversation around AIDS began to shift. With the advent of more effective antiretroviral treatments, the sense of immediate crisis that had defined the previous decade began to wane. At Haverford, this was reflected in a gradual decline in visible AIDS-related activism. The AIDS Service Network, which had once spearheaded education and memorial efforts on campus, grew quieter, and student attention turned to other pressing social issues. Meanwhile, the queer community at Haverford was gaining greater visibility and institutional support, but the urgency that had once bound AIDS activism and LGBTQ+ identity was no longer as central.

Advertisement material for the 2004 AIDS Quilt display

Later, in 2003, ASN was revitalized under the leadership of Claire Fawcett ’06, who was profoundly influenced by her experiences studying HIV/AIDS in South Africa during the summer of that year. Witnessing the epidemic's devastating impact firsthand, Fawcett returned to Haverford determined to address AIDS-related issues domestically. Encouraged by Marilou Allen, head of 8th Dimension, she re-established ASN to engage the campus community in combating the epidemic. 

The rejuvenated ASN focused on education, service, and awareness, organizing volunteer opportunities with organizations such as ASIAC (AIDS Services in Asian Communities) and MANNA (Metropolitan AIDS Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance). Students participated in assembling safe-sex kits, delivering meals to homebound AIDS patients, and providing daycare for children of HIV-positive parents. ASN also coordinated events like AIDS Awareness Week, featuring panel discussions on the epidemic among youth, and facilitated the display of panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt in Founders Great Hall to commemorate World AIDS Day. 

By 2019, ASN had established a tradition of utilizing spring break for immersive learning experiences related to the AIDS epidemic. With funding from the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship (CPGC), Students' Council, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), ASN offered fully-funded, week-long programs in New York City. Participants volunteered at GMHC, the nation's first and leading provider of care, prevention, and advocacy for people living with HIV and AIDS. Activities included assisting with office tasks, serving food in the community dining hall, packing safe-sex kits, attending ACT-UP meetings, and engaging with Haverford alumni working in public health and advocacy.

Today, as public attention has largely shifted away from HIV/AIDS, the history of ASN and queer organizing at Haverford offers a reminder of how student activism adapts to changing times—and how much it’s shaped by who feels safe enough to speak. While the urgency of the epidemic may have faded from the headlines, the work of remembering, supporting, and advocating for those affected by AIDS remains unfinished. Haverford’s response, though far from perfect, shows how even in small communities, collective care can take root and evolve—quietly, persistently, and with lasting impact.

--George Tran ‘27