This past month, San Diego State was adorned with pink ribbons, shirts and athletic equipment in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Since its foundation in 1985, NBCAM has been dedicated to the education and awareness of breast cancer.

Throughout October, pink merchandise was seen in the SDSU bookstore. Items in the bookstore included pink bags, water bottles, shirts and school supplies. Part of proceeds went to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

SDSU’s women’s volleyball team wore pink jerseys at each home game and cheer coach Jennifer Long said the cheer team wore pink bows in support at the homecoming football game.

Some Greek life organizations participated in NBCAM by hosting fundraisers and community events.

“As an organization we try to raise (breast cancer) awareness throughout California, Nevada and other states where our alumnae have moved to,” psychology senior and Sigma Theta Psi social and philanthropy director Vania Gomez said.

Breast cancer awareness is the sorority Sigma Theta Psi’s national philanthropy. It partnered with other sororities and fraternities to host events and fundraisers.

“We’ve been raising a lot each year; this year we’ve raised almost $2,000,” journalism and media studies senior and Sigma Theta Psi president Rachel Quiseng said. “A lot of people think that it’s not a big deal because it’s not affecting them, so the goal is to raise more awareness.”

Sigma Theta Psi also raised money for breast cancer research by participating in San Diego’s Making Strides against Breast Cancer Walk. The sorority has made the walk their local beneficiary.

“For the Making Strides walk, we invited the entire United Sorority and Fraternity Council to walk with us. A lot of the other sororities and fraternities do the walk too,” Quiseng said.

Also in October, Sigma Theta Psi hosted its 16th annual Hush Hush Auction and Breast Cancer Workshop. At the event, the sisters created themed baskets and auctioned them off, with all of the proceeds going to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. The workshop consisted of guest speakers, a panel and a demonstration, Quiseng said.

For the rest of the year, Sigma Theta Psi is partnering with Sigma Lambda Gamma and will continue to plan breast cancer fundraisers. “Bagels for Boobies,” scheduled for spring, was a fundraiser that gave a free bagel to anyone who donated to the Breast Cancer Society.

“We hope to promote learning the facts and learning to get tested because there’s so much that we don’t know,” Quiseng said.

SDSU professors were among those who took part in raising awareness. Communication professor Wayne Beach was also a longtime cancer researcher.

“Early detection, information and knowledge can lead to better prevention. Breast cancer in most cases is a very, very healable disease,” Beach said.

Find out more about breast cancer awareness events at SDSU. 

Photo courtesy of ThinkStock.