Pink was everywhere on campus. T-shirts were being sold last week and pink ribbons could be seen on those who have experienced a family history of breast cancer and those that have not. It was a strong show of unity. 

“Yes, I participated in Pink Out and wore pink socks and a pink hoodie. I love how the community gets together and fights a common cause,” said Alex Borsody (‘23).

 Although we all may know what the pink ribbon stands for, where did it originate? The whole idea of ribbons for soldiers and warriors dates to over 500 years ago. World War I veterans wore red poppies in remembrance of those who died during that conflict. The popularization of ribbons as symbols replaced flowers and the entire ribbon movement was given a boost in 1979 when a wife whose husband was taken hostage during the Iran Hostage Crisis copied a popular song and put yellow ribbons everywhere around her house to symbolize her wanting him to finally come home. 

A decade later, an activist art group called Visual AIDS made the color of their ribbon bright red and looped it into the ribbon we know today. It was first seen on stage pinned onto the chest of actor Jeremy Irons during the Tony Awards. This was a symbol of AIDs/HIV awareness and support. 

“Just to see all of our fans to come out and support us while also raising awareness for a really good cause motivated us. Our team is really tightly knit, and when the community comes out to support us it means a lot,” said Erik Tomonari (20’).

The New York Times called 1992 “The Year of the Ribbon.” The original idea for breast cancer awareness was to use a peach-colored ribbon.  The peach-colored ribbon was subject to copyright restrictions and eventually pink was introduced as a representative of breast cancer awareness.

Nowadays, pink is a color that is embraced by both males and females without judgment, a symbol of being a warrior in the fight against an enemy we can all agree on–Breast Cancer.