Previous generations may have willfully ignored the dangers of breast cancer, but some students now are determined to make sure everyone takes notice.
The Alpha Kappa Delta Phi sorority -- a Bicultural InterGreek Council organization -- held a coffeehouse last night to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, which researches the disease. Around 40 people attended the event, which was held at the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity house on Locust Walk.
The event offered more than food and coffee for the mandatory $5 donation. There was a raffle and several performing arts groups providing entertainment, including Penn Masala, Arts House Dance and the Excelano Project.
"Performance groups... get the rest of the campus involved," College senior Katharine Huang and co-vice president of community service for the sorority said. "It brings people in."
All this week, sorority members have been on Locust Walk, handing out free information about breast cancer and selling various items.
"We've sold a lot of shirts and pins," said Nursing senior Cherry Leung, the other vice president of community service. Penn students "have been really supportive."
The shirts -- which have "Support My Rack" written across the front -- have been particularly useful in raising people's awareness.
"People have been talking about it in the hall," College freshman Meredith Uhl said. "Especially those eye-catching T-shirts."
Organizers hoped that the coffeehouse would both attract students' attention and raise a significant amount of money.
"We raised about $1,000 last year," Huang said. "We hope to raise hundreds of dollars from this."
Organizers said the exact amount of money raised would be counted later.
The fraternity agreed to host the event out of genuine sympathy for the cause and to promote their own agenda.
"We've been trying to increase our presence on campus and in the community," said College sophomore Britt Sellers, the fraternity's co-philanthropy chairman. He added that the house had recently been raising money to fight leukemia. "We're gonna start a clothing drive on Monday... [the coffeehouse] has drawn attention to this house."
Several of the groups had performed at last year's coffeehouse.
"Definitely that's why we performed, because it's a good cause," said College sophomore Tracey Gilbert from the Excelano Project, a spoken word group. "We wouldn't have come for some random event."
Yet even though the coffeehouse was meant to be an enjoyable evening, the sorority was keen to emphasize the seriousness of breast cancer to all people.
"We hope that [students]... understand the prevalence of breast cancer in women and men," Leung said.
"People are aware of it, but they're not thinking it affects them," Huang added. "Forty thousand women will die from breast cancer this year. The fact is, younger women can get breast cancer, too."
Students felt the coffeehouse was an appropriate method for raising money.
According to Nursing senior Ed Chen, "It's been fun, there's live entertainment, which is always a good thing."
