Leadership and the Pink Ribbon Alliance hosted Pink Ribbon Week to honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month, celebrated every October since 1985. Students contributed to the cause by participating in activities and informational tables on the Green, which educated students about how to support people fighting breast and blood cancer.
Monday: Pin the Ribbon
Monday kicked off with a whimsical game of Pin the Ribbon. Students attempted to stick a pink ribbon onto hearts on a board while blindfolded. Accompanying the fun, Leadership sought to convey a larger message of empathy and support for students whose loved ones are battling cancer. “You never know if you’re going to get cancer or not, or [if] those around you get impacted by it,” Leadership organizer and sophomore Zoe Mehta said. “Throughout the week, we’ll have small events that just send [this] message.”
Tuesday: Trivia Day
On Tuesday, students had the opportunity to test their knowledge on cancer, receiving candy for correct answers. “It’s a very important cause that really affects almost all of our lives today, even if we don’t realize it,” Leadership organizer and junior Gloria Dal Busco said.
Wednesday: Facts 4 Snacks
Midway through the week, students turned their attention to learning about breast cancer by searching around the Green for a written fact, learning it, and returning to the table for a donut treat. “Really drilling that awareness into people is so important to help them recognize not just all the people who are struggling with it, but also to recognize that they themselves could be struggling with it,” Dal Busco said.
Thursday: Write a Letter
Thursday was dedicated to writing letters to breast cancer patients. Cancer has been a close matter to the lives of many students and their families. “My parents got cancer. It was a different type of cancer [than blood or breast cancer], so [cancer awareness] is important to my family, Leadership organizer and sophomore Clare Duran said.
Junior Santiago Quesada Tevis’s grandmother died of breast cancer when he was younger, and he wrote a letter to other cancer patients struggling with the same experience his family went through. “I just told them to stay strong and wished them the best on their journey, because it is really tough,” Quesada Tevis said. “I wish that there’s more progress that’s made in finding a treatment for cancer.”
Other students had similar caring and hopeful sentiments they wished to send to people struggling through cancer. “Look for the light that’s at the end of the tunnel,” sophomore BB Bohmann Farrell said. “As long as you keep [being] positive, you can outlast it.”
Friday: Powderpuff Game
On the final day, senior and junior girls gathered on Coach Parks Field to play their annual Powderpuff Game for breast cancer awareness at lunch. Many students came to watch, cheering on their classmates and getting to know more about Pink Ribbon.
The festivities ended on a high-energy day of friendly competition. Each day was festive, informative, and supportive while spreading more information about cancer and empathy for people whose lives it has influenced. “I think [Leadership] helped by just wearing pink, and just really played into the month by doing a bunch of pink stuff and doing activities,” sophomore Elizabeth Meaney said.
