October is recognized annually as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and UTRGV is getting the word out.
University Recreation hosted Power in Pink, its annual breast cancer awareness event, Tuesday on the Harlingen campus, Wednesday on the Brownsville campus and Thursday on the Edinburg campus. The event was co-hosted by Student Health Services, the UTRGV Student Food Pantry and the Counseling Center as an effort to educate students on the disease.
Michael Garcia, a kinesiology graduate student and fitness graduate supervisor for University Recreation, believes providing educational resources and information about breast cancer is important to increase awareness among students.
“Breast cancer is something that’s very prominent in society and it affects a lot of different people, whether it’s directly or indirectly through a family member,” Garcia said. “It’s good to just be aware of it.”
He said he hopes students will become knowledgeable of the disease’s symptoms.
Kappa Delta Chi annually hosts Paint the Campus Pink, where sorority sisters and other students tie pink ribbons and place educational posters across campus.
Dance senior Jennifer Jimenez, who serves as the new member educator and standards officer for the sorority, said the event is organized to educate students on how the illness affects the community and the importance of medical checkups and screenings.
“Breast cancer is a big factor that affects Hispanic-Latino population,” Jimenez said. “Some people, they won’t know that it is something that can be diagnosed with them until it’s too late.”
She said many students thanked her at their event for bringing awareness of the disease.
This year, Vaquero Outfitters, located at 1518 W. University Drive in Edinburg, will sell pink UTRGV T-shirts throughout the month of October. Proceeds from each shirt sold will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
Alisa Gonzalez, co-owner of the store, said students can show their support on campus by wearing the shirt.
“In our family, we have breast cancer survivors,” Gonzalez said. “It is something near and dear to our heart.”
She said customers who purchase the shirt are giving back to their community and becoming part of a collective charitable donation.
