Breastival raises money, awareness

This past Saturday, alpha Kappa Delta Phi(aKDPhi) hosted its annual Breastival, an event designed to spread awareness during the month of October, National Breast Cancer Month. The event raised over $2000, all proceeds going directly to Avon Breast Cancer Research. This year, around 170 people attended, a number comparable to last year when the Breastival was held on the Beach.

"Breast cancer awareness is crucial because breast cancer affects many women and today it affects many at younger ages," aKDPhi junior Melody Chiu wrote in an email to The News-Letter.  "It is important to be aware of symptoms associated with breast cancer so it can be detected and diagnosed at its early stages so that it would be treatable."

Hosted on the Gilman Quad, the event merged educational activities with free food and candy in order to facilitate student participation. In order to get free pizza, one had to visit each table and get an initial on their passports. Each table was staffed by a different student or staffed by a different student or Baltimore organization and had an educational lesson, activity or game with the focus of cancer awareness and prevention.

Groups in attendance included Hopkins Avon Breast Cancer Center at JHMI, PEEPs (Preventative Education & Empowerment for Peers), SEED (Students Educating and Empowering for Diversity), Alpha Epsilon Delta (the premedical honor society), Relay for Life and the Women's Pre-Heath Leadership Society.

Freshman Jessica Lee, from Relay For Life's Executive Board, thought that the event went very well. She worked at the "Men Against Breast Cancer" table.

"It was fun and cute because they had that little passport thing, so people were going from table to table, and it was nice because we got to ask them a random fact, like, ‘Do you know how many people with breast cancer are diagnosed every day?'" she said. "We had people guess random numbers. It was surprising because it was a very high number, so it was a good way to [get] people to learn about it."

Sophomore Aisha Mohammed, who represented Peer Educators and Empowerment for Peers, worked at a table that had students try to find possible tumors on false breasts. She also thought the event was successful but would have liked to see a higher turnout.

"I think it is a good event to have as far as raising awareness," Mohammed wrote in an e-mail to The News-Letter. "However, I don't think it got the attention that it deserved."

A survivor also spoke at the event about her own experiences with breast cancer.

"It was cool that they had a survivor come and speak about her personal experience with the disease," Mohammed wrote. "She was very knowledgeable and approachable."

aKDPhi also co-hosted the event with Colleges Against Cancer, a group who also had a booth at the event.

Since its inception, Breastival has undergone many changes with the goal of reaching the largest portion of the student body it can.

"We tried cutting it down to make it shorter. We've been looking for locations to see which one works best and to get the most people out there," senior Hyo Choi, co-Vice President of Service, said. "We were included in Greek Weekend this year so we were trying to get more people to come out."

Breastival was founded 10 years ago with Lillian Shockney, the Administrative Director of Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Cancer. Targeting college students, the event has become a trendsetter.

"She created Breastival and our girls 10 years ago helped it get started. After we did it, they made it a trademark. And now it's at other schools," Choi said.

Shockney is proud of the success this event has seen.

"I'm very proud of the sorority, alpha Kappa Delta Phi, that has continued this important breast cancer education and awareness event for the JHU Homewood campus," Shockney wrote in an e-mail to The News-Letter. "Each year more students are educated and learn that certain lifestyle behaviors can greatly increase their risk of getting this disease so following a risk reduction lifestyle is truly the way to go!"

Shockney is also pleased with how the event has spread beyond Baltimore, with hundreds of establishments following suit with similar programs.

"We have had many college and breast centers nationally and even internationally request to replicate this productive and fun event. More than 200 college campuses and breast centers have obtained our Breastival Resource and Planning Kit which has resulted in hundreds and hundreds of Breastivals," Shockney wrote.

These Breastivals can be found at universities nationwide and in other countries like Canada and New Zealand, each event following the model that was created here in Baltimore.

"We want more publicity and are trying to get more of the student body out there," Choi said, reflecting upon this year's Breastival. "I still think a lot of people don't know about Breastival."

Chiu hoped that the event raised awareness in the student body.

"We hope students are more aware of breast cancer and the risks associated with it after learning facts about it during Breastival," she wrote.