Sculpture of Ryan White unveiled at Indiana Memorial Union

A sculpture honoring Ryan White was unveiled Wednesday at the Indiana Memorial Union at Indiana University.

White was an Indiana teenager who became a national advocate for AIDS education and anti-discrimination efforts. A hemophiliac since birth, he was 13 years old when diagnosed with AIDS after a blood transfusion.

White had a dream of attending IU but died in 1990, one month before high school graduation, due to an AIDS-related complication.

“This is where he wanted to be, Indiana University,” White’s mother, Jeanne White-Ginder said.

Sculptor Melanie Cooper-Pennington, a senior lecturer at IU’s Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture and Design, said she hopes students interact with the sculpture. People can leave or pick up post-it notes of encouragement for others on the sculpture.

“His story is emblematic to me of the power of education to fight hate, fear, and discrimination,” Cooper-Pennington said.

Students can also participate through the project’s social media, Keep Going at IU.