Dance Marathon raises awareness about ‘inspirational’ student activists

This week, students remembered two lives that ended prematurely.\nIU Dance Marathon put on Ryan White and Ashley Crouse Education Week to create awareness about the lives and early deaths of White and Crouse and about IUDM. Both White and Crouse impacted the marathon greatly, said Ashley Crouse’s brother, Casey Crouse. White was the inspiration behind the IUDM, said junior Sarah Franz, director of marketing for IUDM. White died from complications of AIDS April 8, 1990, months before he was supposed to begin studying at IU. \nAshley Crouse died in a car accident on April 12, 2005. She was on the Executive Council of IUDM. \nIn 2007, IUDM raised more than $1 million for Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.\n“They’re why we do what we do,” said Casey Crouse, who is also a sophomore and external vice president of IUDM .\nFranz said fliers were handed out with information about Crouse and White throughout the week. The IUDM also sold about 450 blue “Ashley and Ryan” T-shirts that were to be worn Thursday. \nShe also said riders for Kappa Kappa Gamma, Crouse’s sorority, plans to wear blue ribbons on their Little 500 jerseys, and greek houses were asked to hang banners in White’s and Crouse’s honor. \nOn Sunday, a slide show in honor of Ashley Crouse will be screened on the lawn of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Franz said visitors can come and go between 6 and 8 p.m. \nAccording to the IUDM Web site, White contracted AIDS through blood products used to treat his hemophilia. After being diagnosed with AIDS, White had to fight a legal battle to return to school and had to deal with his community’s and society’s fears about AIDS. Junior Gretchen Pinnick, a member of IUDM’s Riley development committee, said society didn’t understand or know how to handle AIDS. A common fear was that people with AIDS could spread it to others through ordinary contact. \nFranz said White revolutionized the way people think about AIDS patients. \n“It’s a bridge that had never been crossed before,” Pinnick said.\nPinnick said Riley Hospital had become a sort of support group for White. Franz said when a friend of White’s, Jill Stewart, came to IU, she decided to start IUDM to benefit Riley Children’s Hospital \nin Indianapolis. \nPinnick, who is also president of Kappa Kappa Gamma, said IUDM was something Ashley Crouse felt passionately about and worked hard for.\n“She had all these dreams, she was so optimistic about it,” Pinnick said, referring to the IUDM.\nCasey Crouse said his sister had a love for life and tried to make as many people smile as she could.\nFranz said it’s the first year IUDM has put on Ryan White and Ashley Crouse Education Week, but they hope to make it an annual event. \nThe IDS is a corporate sponsor of IUDM.