Since its inception in 1985, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month has been disseminating information about the disease and raising funds for research into it’s cause, prevention and cure. Activities and events including marathons, fashion shows and conferences have been held with the goal of spreading awareness and capturing the hearts and minds of many.

The Tie–Dye for Cancer event was the brainchild of Health Services educator Mary-Jo Lomax. She says she is constantly thinking of activities that are both fun and interactive for students on campus to partake in, and that will have a lasting impact. Instead of setting up a table and passing out fliers, she wanted students to get involved and to “have fun with it.” The idea came to her when she saw someone wearing a tie-dye shirt.

“I didn’t want it to be boring and just pass our brochures saying ‘here, please fill this out,’ Lomax said. She figured that tie dying shirts would get more attention. It was a “great success, I had bought 80 shirts for two days, with the option of three different shades of pink, and by the second day we ran out of shirts resulting in the event ending an hour earlier than anticipated,” she said.

“What they’re doing is a good idea, to be able to wear something that will unite the De Anza students when participating on the walk,” Christina McGuire said. Coming from a family with a history of cancer related deaths, she felt a personal connection to the event, as did many of the other students who had participated.

The reason for the Tie–Dye For Cancer event was not to raise money, but to promote the walk in San Jose by spreading the word to De Anza students. “It’s really refreshing to see busy students, who have many things to do, still find time to help out,”Christine Jehng said.

Student volunteers from Instructor Natasha Joplin’s Human Sexuality course don smocks to tie and dye shirts to be worn during the cancer walk in San Jose (Helen Koh)