TAHLEQUAH — Tammie Willis recalled the loss she felt when one friend after another succumbed to AIDS in the early 1990s.

“I attended a funeral a month for six months,” she said. “These were people who were hit hard by AIDS. Back then, we didn’t know nearly as much as we know now.”

Even with more knowledge about the disease, Willis wants people to remember lives touched by AIDS. Now assistant housing director at Northeastern State University, Willis has worked to bring sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to NSU campuses in Tahlequah, Muskogee and Broken Arrow.

Eight 12-foot-square sections of the AIDS Quilt were opened during a World AIDS Day ceremony Monday at the Tahlequah campus University Center. A ninth section towered behind NSU President Don Betz as he spoke about the panels, which will be on display at NSU’s three campuses and the Cherokee Nation Tribal Complex through Friday.

“It’s about the names we honor, knowing they are gone,” Betz said. “It shows we are connected with each other. You don’t need to see it all (the entire quilt) to know what it means.”

Each section is made up of handmade three-foot by six-foot panels memorializing people who died from AIDS. Since the first panel was sewn in 1987, the AIDS quilt has grown to have more than 90,000 panels. Different sections are continuously on display at different parts of the country.

Panels honored lives of men and women who lived in big cities such as New York City, medium cities such as Corpus Christi, Texas, and small towns such as Hancock, Mich.

A panel honoring “Joey” featured pictures of his dog Sparky and cat Chiquita.

Willis said she has wanted to bring sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to NSU since last year’s World AIDS Day observance.

“A year ago, I was having conversations with students about the AIDS Quilt, so we organized fundraisers to bring sections here,” she said.

As she looked over the multi-colored panels that covered part of the Herb Rozell Ballroom floor, Willis said seeing the quilt “is a different experience than it was 10 to 15 years ago.”

“Now it’s seen as a chronic illness, not a death sentence,” she said. “AIDS has lost its impact.”

Nick Hulsey, a Tulsa NSU junior, said that seeing the quilt had an impact on him.

“I’m hemophiliac, so the quilt impacted me a whole lot,” he said. “When I found out they are bringing the AIDS quilt, I jumped right on it.”