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10.19.2015
lifestyle Student orgs raise breast cancer awareness
JEVETTE BROWN | STAFF WRITER
The pink ribbons popping up on everyone’s backpacks and sweaters on campus recently are not just for decoration. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Mason is doing its fair share of bringing attention to this notable cause. Mason’s chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha, a sorority whose national philanthropy is breast cancer awareness and education, is hosting a month full of events to support the cause. ZTA has partnered with several reputable national organizations to support their Think Pink campaign like the American Cancer Society, the National Football League (NFL) and a nonprofit educational organization, Bright Pink, to promote these efforts. ZTA members Katie Lynch and Evelien Krijnen, who are in charge of organizing the sorority’s events this year, said the kickoff for Breast Cancer Awareness Month at Mason was held on Oct. 1st, when members handed out ribbons in North Plaza. They also held a Kiss Away Cancer event on Oct. 6th where anyone affected by breast cancer could show their support by “kissing” it away by drawing a heart on a large banner. At the annual “Crucial Catch Game,” held on Oct. 4th, ZTA sisters attended a Washington Redskins NFL game to hand out ribbons. ZTA formed a partnership with the team to support the cause in 1999. Krijnen says it is especially important to her to raise awareness on college campuses because “it creates a community for those who know people that have been touched by the disease to get involved and find support.”
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Mason’s Wellness, Alcohol and Violence Education and Services office (WAVES) hosted its second annual Give Cancer the Boot event in North Plaza earlier this month. This event brings attention to the various cancers that affect young adults and teaches early detection and prevention methods through interactive activities. Student Health Services even gave out coupons for $5 off the HPV vaccine at its table at the event to further encourage students to utilize early detection methods and to pursue further information on this subject. In addition to hosting Give Cancer the Boot, WAVES offers online resources, including advice on its webpage for breast self-exams, as 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. This national awarness campaign, which started in 1985, was organized to increase knowledge about breast cancer and to help raise money for researching the disease. Multiple events are held around the country including Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure, a three day, sixty-mile fundraiser walk to raise money for cancer research. Mason’s School of Dance is also showing its support for the cause under the direction of junior dance major, Ariana Matthews, who is a passionate advocate of breast cancer awareness. Last year, Matthews challenged the entire department to wear pink the first day of October and each Wednesday of the month to show support, and over half the dancers participated. This year, Matthews has asked dancers to honor Wednesdays and Thursdays in October as a “pinkout,” where dancers can wear pink as a way of showing continued support. But ZTA is not the only student organization stepping up to support breast cancer awareness this month. Other student organizations are also doing their part to help raise awareness. The
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Mason Caribbean Student Association and Mason’s chapter of the fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha paired up October 15 for a Think Pink fundraiser in the Johnson Center. For this event, students could be entered to win a Caribbean Corner gift card if they posted a picture of themselves wearing pink to social media, complete with the hashtag #PinkCSA or #AlphasNPink, then stopped by the fundraiser’s kiosk to donate to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Matthews says she thinks breast cancer awareness is especially important among dancers, since the field is largely made up of females. In addition, she thinks it is important to promote support within the School of Dance since she estimates that almost everyone in the department can name someone currently or previously affected by breast cancer. “Cancer and loss of life from it is never an easy thing to work around and it never will be,” Matthews said. Still, she applauds the support system of the Mason Dance Company and its efforts towards promoting education and awareness of this disease. “It makes the process that much easier,” she said. To wrap up the month, ZTA will be hosting one of the most popular Mason events for raising cancer awareness, Big Man on Campus (BMOC). This is a week-long competition in which students compete to raise money for breast cancer awareness and education. The culmination of the contest is a pageant, complete with talent and swimsuit portions and the crowning of a male student as Mason’s Big Man on Campus. Even though October is the nationally recognized month for breast cancer awareness, Krijnen reminds us that “breast cancer ... is something to be aware of 365 days a year.”
(CLAIRE CECIL/FOURTH ESTATE)