As part of their philanthropy of breast cancer awareness and education, girls from the UC Berkeley Upsilon chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority set up a booth by the main entrance of Haas Pavilion and handed out pink ribbons. The pink ribbon is a symbol of solidarity with the American Cancer Society and Think Pink, a national organization that provides information and resources for prevention and treatment.
The women of Zeta greeted passersby with “Thank you for your support” and “Enjoy the game, go bears!” They also set up a table with stickers, markers, and construction paper so children attending the game with their parents could make posters. A donation box rested on the table, and they encouraged anyone who dropped by to donate.
Zeta Tau Alpha plans to have other events for their Think Pink Week, from February 13 to the 17th, which includes selling pink lemonade on Sproul Plaza and selling tickets to go to their house on Friday night for chicken nuggets, fries, and music from a live DJ. Their biggest event, aside from the pink-out game, is a bra-decorating contest. Entrants pay a fee to decorate a bra, and bras are to be displayed on Sproul with corresponding jars. Anyone is encouraged to place money in the jar of their favorite bra, and the one with the most donations is the winning entry.
As for the basketball game, walking through the crowd of people flooding in, one could see hundreds of pink ribbons pinned proudly to their chests. The effort to “pink-out” the game was a success. The Cal women’s basketball team played against Colorado and lost 59-64, but there was still much to be celebrated as an air of generosity and positivity permeated the air.
As one Cal basketball fan noted, “It’s always a great day to see young women making a difference in the world.” It most certainly is.